Sins of the Father
by RinDreams
Summary: A few discoveries are made and a new fear rises in the Wizarding world. Sorry, I suck at summaries. *laugh*
1. Discoveries

Authors Note: This is a WIP. With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one. Please, bear with me in this.  
  
Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story. The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I am making no money off this (would be nice though.*laugh*)  
  
Sins of the Father  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Stepping out of the tree line, the young man headed toward the cottage ahead of him. The building is small but well maintained. Approaching the cottage, the young man felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. He was confused at first and then realized what it was.  
  
Fear.  
  
He was frightened of what he was going to find inside. Steeling his resolve, he took a deep breath and stepped forward. Grasping the brass doorknob, he swung the door open and stepped across the threshold, wand out and ready to defend himself.  
  
Looking around, he saw the inside was richly decorated with all the trappings of wealth and arrogance. Shaking his head, he sighed and thought to himself that some never change. Walking through the rooms, he heard no other movement but his, and assumed the house was empty.  
  
Walking up to the staircase, he took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves and began ascending the stairs. Reaching the top, he found three doors, two closed and one slightly ajar. Going to the open door, he pushed it open and found a bedroom, most of the small space taken up by the large curtained bed in the middle.  
  
Resting on the bed was a man, his long white hair fanned around him on the pillows and the covers pulled up to his chest. He appeared to be sleeping; he was still and made no movement as the young man approached the bed. Entering the room, he smelled the sharp scent of healing herbs and could feel the remnants of charms hanging in the air like a curtain.  
  
Reaching the side of the bed, he gazed down at the still figure and saw that the man's eyes were open but sightless. "So this was how you met your end. Very grand indeed." Turning from the bed, he walked out of the room without another glance back and headed to investigate the two closed doors.  
  
Finding the first one to be a storage room, filled with trunks that were so covered in dust, he could tell they hadn't been touched in at least a couple of years. The second door was locked. Pointing his wand at the lock he whispered, "Alohomora."  
  
The door sprung open at his muttered spell and he stepped into the room. Heading immediately to the large desk that faced the lawn in front of the cottage, he began to open drawers and rifled through their contents. Finding nothing there, he headed over to the shelves and began to pull out scrolls that looked new. Opening the first one, he gasped as he read the contents. Setting it into the bag he carried slung over his shoulder, he began to browse the remaining scrolls, discarding and taking ones as he read.  
  
Then, he stopped and glanced out the window, noticing a group of hooded and cloaked figures step out of the trees and head toward the cottage. Cursing under his breath, he headed out of the room and to the stairs. Stopping at the landing he could hear voices talking quietly. He knew he would never get out that way. Heading over to the trunk-filled room, he closed the door behind him and spotted the window. Walking around the trunks, careful not to disturb anything, he opened the window and stepped out onto the steep roof and jumped to short distance to the soft ground below. Glancing around and seeing no one in sight, he dashed for the safe cover of the trees.  
  
"You! Stop!"  
  
Hearing the voice shout behind him as he crashed into the undergrowth, he glanced back long enough to see a wand being raised and lightning spring forth from its tip. Gasping in shock, he dodged to the left as the tree he had been next to exploded in a shower of wood, smoke and flame.  
  
Jumping to his feet, he dashed further into the trees; trying to find fix his surroundings so he could locate his broom. He could hear the voices closing in on him and the shouted voices calling out to one another.  
  
"He's dead! We found him in his bed!"  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Someone is here! I spotted him going into the trees!"  
  
"We have to find him, he has some of the scrolls!"  
  
Taking the chance the shouts gave him; he whispered a phrase and Apparated quickly.  
  
********* Opening his eyes, the young man glanced around, confused momentarily at his surroundings. People were milling about him, glancing at him, he assumed, in shocked amazement at his sudden appearance. Seeing the sign for Olivander's, he knew instantly he had arrived in Diagon Alley.  
  
"The port key."  
  
Dashing down the crowded street, ignoring the protests, he found what he was looking for and stepped inside. Instantly he found himself outside of a building he new all too well.  
  
******* "Good morning, Millicent," Oliver said, stepping up to the desk. "He in?"  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Wood. He certainly is, he's looking over reports. Go on in. I'll make sure you aren't disturbed."  
  
"Thank you," he said. Walking to the door, he stepped inside and locked the door silently behind him and watched the man seated behind the desk across the room.  
  
"Yes? What can I do for you," Percy Weasely, Minister of Magic asked, not bothering to look up from the parchment he was intent on.  
  
"Well, I have this little problem and was told that you could help, so here I am," Oliver said, grinning as Percy's head shot up and a grin appeared.  
  
"Oliver! I wasn't expecting you back till the end of the week." Percy rose and came around the desk, walking into Oliver's open arms and hugging the taller man, resting his head on his chest.  
  
"Well, Will's mother-in-law sent an owl telling him that his wife had just gone into labor. He Apparated so quickly, we didn't even get a chance to reschedule the meeting. So, here I am." Kissing Percy lightly on the head, he sighed contentedly. "It's good to see you."  
  
"I'm glad you're home," Percy said quietly.  
  
"So am I. And, Happy Birthday by the way." Grinning down at his partner, Oliver leaned in and kissed him softly, quickly deepening the kiss.  
  
After a few moments, both men pulled apart. Percy drew a shaky breath and laughed. "You still manage to take my breath away when you do that. I love you, Oliver Wood."  
  
"I love you, Percival Weasley."  
  
******* Hermione was frowning slightly at the scroll in front of her. She had read it four times and was still having trouble believing what she was reading. There wasn't any way for a dragon to have been spotted outside of Glastonbury. There weren't any more dragons in England.  
  
Reaching for her teacup, she heard the shouted voices outside her office.  
  
"Malfoy! What's the rush?"  
  
"Malfoy?" Hermione wasn't sure she had heard correctly as her husband, looking ragged and dirty burst into her office, closing the door behind her and locking it with a quick flick of his wand. "Draco! What's wrong? What's happened to you?"  
  
Pulling a bag off of his shoulder, Draco flung it down on his wife's desk and began pacing. "This! I don't believe this! All these years and the bastard was trying to rebuild everything they had lost!" Hermione rose and came around the desk toward him.  
  
"Draco, sit." Hermione pushed in into a chair and planted her hand firmly against his chest. Looking him in the eye, she spoke again, letting him know she wasn't in the mood to hear him fuming. "Sit. Now, tell me what is going on?"  
  
"I found him!" Draco shouted, trying to stand up again only to have his wife push him back down into the chair. "Stop that!"  
  
"No. You found who? Draco, you've lost me." Crossing her arms, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and glanced over at her desk.  
  
"My father," Draco told her, watching the shock come across her face.  
  
"What?! Ok, wait a moment.are you sure? Draco, that's impossible, he died in the battle." Kneeling on the floor in front of him, Hermione reached for his hands only to have Draco stand up and walk around her. Sighing in exasperation, she turned as saw him searching through the bag he had thrown on her desk.  
  
"He is now. He wasn't though! I found where he's been hiding for the past eight years! Eight years, and we never knew he was there! Here, read this!" Draco pulled a scroll from the bag and thrust it toward her.  
  
Looking at him with a puzzled expression, she unrolled the fine parchment and scanned the contents, noticing quite a few familiar names. "Draco, what is.. oh Merlin." Looking up, her face was a mixture of shock and.was that fear showing in her eyes?  
  
"Yes, it's exactly what you think it is.a list of new Deatheaters." Draco said. His mouth twisted in a grimace. "So much for trying to clean up the Malfoy name. As soon as this gets out, it'll be 'Oh look, there's Draco Malfoy, wonder how long before he follows his father.'"  
  
"Draco, stop that," Hermione said distractedly. She was scanning the scroll over and over again. "We have to go see Percy. Come with me."  
  
Without waiting for Draco to answer her, she grabbed up the bag, and her wand, and headed for the door. Stopping long enough to unlock the door, she headed out into the hall toward Percy's office.  
  
****** Millicent looked up as Hermione and Draco approached. Standing up, she glanced toward the door and then back at Hermione. She could tell by the determined look on the young woman's face that it wasn't going to do her any good, but she was at least going to try. "Ms. Granger, he's in a meeting, you'll need to come back.later." The last of her sentence fell on deaf ears as Hermione pulled out her wand and opened the door with a bang.  
  
"Percy, we need to.. oh.um.sorry." Stopping in her tracks, she heard Draco come to a stop behind her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Percy and Oliver were quickly pulling away from one another and rearranging their robes. "What is it Hermione?"  
  
"Percy, we have a problem. A bad one." Saying nothing more, she walked over and held out the scroll to him.  
  
"Hello Draco, ever hear of a comb?" Percy asked as he unrolled the scroll.  
  
"What?" It was obvious that Draco had no idea what Percy was talking about. Before he could say anything else, he saw the Minister's face darken.  
  
"Where did you get this? Hermione? Draco?" Looking at both of them, Percy walked over and began to pull out other scrolls.  
  
"I found them at a cottage where I found my father's body."  
  
"What? Wait a minute, your father's been dead for eight years," Oliver said. "He escaped the battle field?"  
  
"We often wondered if any of Voldemort's followers managed to get out but we could never be sure, since there wasn't much left of them," Percy said distractedly. His attention was on the parchments he and Hermione were poring over.  
  
"Percy! Look at this one!" Hermione handed him a parchment, horror etched across her face. Draco, seeing the distress on her face walked over and put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"These are names on children! Draco, your children's names are on here. So are Ron's and Harry's and quite a few others who attended Hogwart's with us."  
  
"What?" Oliver came around Percy's desk to look over his shoulder. "Oh my God. What is this?"  
  
"I'm not sure. We need to go see Harry." Without another word, Percy gathered up the scrolls and headed for a door. "Come on."  
  
"Um.Perce? Why are we heading for the closet?" Oliver asked, confused as Hermione and Draco followed Percy to the door.  
  
"It's also a port key, to Harry's office at Hogwarts. Come on Oliver." Percy pulled open the door and motioned for Hermione and Draco to go ahead of him. Putting his arm around Oliver's shoulders, he pulled him into the small, tight space. "I never thought it would be used by this many at once but we don't have the time."  
  
****** Harry was sitting at his desk talking with Minerva McGonagol as his closet door flew open to eject four people onto his office floor. Minerva spun with a gasp as Harry rose quickly, reaching for his wand resting on the desktop.  
  
"Percy? Hermione? Oliver? Draco!?" Harry was more that a little surprised to see all four of them rising from the floor. "What is going on?"  
  
"Good heavens Mr. Malfoy! Look at yourself," Minerva said, walking over and brushing her hands across Draco's and Hermione's clothes. "What has happened to you?"  
  
"Harry," Percy said, his tone serious. "We have a problem. A big one."  
  
TBC 


	2. Meetings

Chapter 2  
  
Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, Harry sighed in frustration. Minerva had left shortly after the Minister and his party had arrived, leaving them in privacy. "I don't know what to make of half these scrolls. I wish you'd been able to get more of the Draco."  
  
"Well it's not like I had a choice Potter. It was flee and live or stay and die. What choice would you have made?" Draco had finally been able to comb his hair and straighten his clothes.  
  
Noticing that her husband's pants were torn, Hermione pulled out her wand and repaired his clothing, earning a small smile from him, just to see him turn back and glower at Harry. "Draco, Harry, please now is not the time for this."  
  
"Fine," Harry said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But we need to find out what all of this means. We need to see Severus."  
  
"Snape? Are you sure that's wise Harry?" Percy was standing with Oliver, his arms crossed and watching Harry over his glasses.  
  
"Why wouldn't it be? He came over to our side and helped us win, you should remember that Percy. You were there." Harry stood up and grabbed up the bag.  
  
"You're right, I apologize. Besides, if Snape hadn't helped Dumbledore pair up Hermione and Draco, we wouldn't have this information."  
  
"Yeah, and we'd probably all be dead," Oliver said quietly. He was standing over at one of the bookcases, leafing randomly through books. Never being one for serious studying, he had retreated as the four of the most powerful members of the Wizarding community had begun talking. "Is it just me, or did that sound bad?"  
  
"Don't worry about it Oliver. We understood what you meant. Come on." Percy handed Oliver his cloak and followed Harry out of the office. Hermione glanced at her husband and sighed. She could tell he was fighting to keep his emotions in check. After all of the years they had been married she could read him like an open book, much to his frequent frustration. "Draco, don't blame yourself, you couldn't have possibly known he was still alive."  
  
Sighing, Draco looked at her, his eyes flaring briefly with anger. Finally he smiled and looked at her. "I know. I just can't help but wonder what all he's been up to over the years. He knew about our children."  
  
"Well, that was most likely from the plants in the Ministry. There are more names on that list that I know than I'm comfortable with." Pulling Draco into a quick hug, she kissed him on the cheek. "Come on, we need to catch up to the others."  
  
****** "Headmaster, Minister, to what do I owe this visit?" Snape was standing at his desk with his arms crossed, looking impatient. "Ah, Ms. Granger and Malfoy. This is a pleasant surprise."  
  
Glaring at the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Hermione glanced at Draco and found him shaking his head, a grin playing across his face. "Severus, we need your help."  
  
"My help, whatever for?"  
  
Harry handed Snape one of the scrolls. "This. Draco discovered that his father wasn't dead. He is now, but it's apparent that he's been busy of late."  
  
Taking the scroll from Harry, Snape glanced at the others quickly, his landing briefly on Oliver. "Mr. Wood, shouldn't you be off playing Quidditch?" Not waiting for a reply, he began scanning the scroll in his hands.  
  
Percy turned to smile at Oliver and found frowning at Snape. "Don't let him get to you, love," Percy whispered, reaching over and taking Oliver's hand in his own.  
  
"This is most interesting. It appears that Lucius was trying to rebuild what he had lost with Voldemort's death. Most interesting indeed. I assume there's more?" Holding out his hand, he nodded as Harry handed over the bag.  
  
Taking the bag from Harry, he began to pull scrolls out and scanned them quickly. He was reading one when he stopped and looked directly at Hermione and Draco. "I see you're children on this list. Along with yours Potter. This is most intriguing. I can't help but wonder what they had in mind for these children." Severus was lost in thought for several moments while the others waited silently. Draco was watching his old potions master closely. "I can't possibly be good, whatever the purpose."  
  
"Some of the children listed are students here. Others are too young for that," Harry said in a distracted tone. "We need to figure out what they're up to."  
  
"In the meantime, I think we need to examine these scrolls more closely," Percy said. He was standing next to Oliver, who had his hands on Percy's shoulders. His brow was knit in concentration.  
  
"We might want to move the children to a central location where they can be protected," Hermione said.  
  
"We could always bring them here," Draco said. "What better place to have them?"  
  
"No, that would be exactly what they would expect us to do Malfoy. I thought I taught you better than that," Snape said, mild derision evident in his tone. "We need someplace large, but easily guarded. Some place that can handle the.ruckus.that many children are bound to provide."  
  
As Snape finished his sentence Harry and Percy looked at one another and smiled. "The Burrow!" Laughing at each other, Oliver and Hermione nodded in agreement.  
  
"It's the perfect place Harry," Hermione said. "Molly and Arthur would probably be thrilled to have more children around the house again."  
  
"Yes, they would," Percy said. "But that many children? We're talking close the forty children here, all between the ages of two to ten. I'll need to contact them."  
  
"We'll all go," Harry said. "I've been meaning to visit with them for sometime anyway. Thank you for your help Severus. I'll keep you informed."  
  
"I am glad to have been of service Headmaster," Snape smiled. He glanced over at Draco and raised an eyebrow. "Malfoy, if you don't mind staying a bit, I think we might be able to work some of these scrolls out, that is if the Minister doesn't mind leaving them with us."  
  
Turning to Percy, Draco waited for him to decide. After a moment of studious glances exchanged between him and Harry, Percy finally nodded. "We'll take the list of possible Deatheaters and the children. The rest can stay here. I can't think of any better place to leave than at Hogwart's."  
  
This decided, Draco took a seat at Snape's desk as the other filed out. Once in the hallway, Oliver grabbed Percy. Turning him to look him in the face he glanced at Hermione and Harry. "I don't mean to sound overly suspicious here but do you really think it's wise to leave those with him I mean, I know Draco is trustworthy, otherwise Hermione would never have married him. But, Snape?"  
  
"Trust me, Oliver," Harry said. "Snape can be trusted. He's saved my life too many times in the past for me not to trust him."  
  
Nodding, Oliver motioned for the others to lead the way. Heading back up the stairs toward Harry's office, Oliver still couldn't help but wonder if they hadn't gotten in over their heads 


	3. Confrontations

Confrontations  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Gathering together his things, Harry explained to Minerva what was going on and that he would be gone for a while. Nodding to him, Minerva gathered her skirts and headed for the door. "Professor?"  
  
Turning at Harry's voice, Minerva reached up and wiped at her eye. Smiling sadly at her old student, now the Headmaster of the school, and sighed. "I never thought I would hear those names again. Be careful Harry."  
  
"I will. Thank you. I'll keep in touch with you through Hedwig," Harry said, smiling at her. "Well, are we ready?"  
  
The others were scattered around the room, Oliver was examining the paintings of the past Headmasters while Percy and Hermione were scanning the shelves, pulling out books here and there. "I need to collect Draco before we go. He's still rather upset and I don't want to be too far from him."  
  
Harry nodded as she headed for the door. "Percy? Any thoughts? Oliver?" Harry walked over to his desk and leaned back against it, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Well, I think the first thing we need to do is get the children to safety. Quietly," Oliver said. Glancing over at Percy, he smiled when he saw Percy nod at him.  
  
"I doubt we'll have much trouble getting Mom and Dad to help. He's been itching for something to do since he retired," Percy said with a laugh. "I just can't help but wonder about the others."  
  
"Who?" Harry was confused by Percy's statement.  
  
"Ron, Fred and George. Charlie, Bill. I honestly don't know how they'll feel about pulling our family back into the thick of things." Percy closed his eyes and shook his head, sighing softly.  
  
He started slightly when Oliver walked up behind him and pulled him back against his chest. "Don't worry Perce-love. They'll understand. Ron's children are on that list as well, remember?"  
  
"Oliver's right, Percy," Harry said. Looking up, Percy watched the younger man walk toward them. His green eyes were sparkling with a fierce determination, almost as if lit by a green fire from within. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Ron'll understand. He has to."  
  
Hearing the door open, Harry turned and watched Hermione and Draco walk in. "Ready to go?" They both nodded and glanced around.  
  
"Um, Harry? How are we going to get to the Burrow? I mean, there isn't a port key there, is there," Hermione asked, looking at Harry and Percy.  
  
Laughing, Percy shook his head. "No, there's no port key at the Burrow. Mum wouldn't let me put on in."  
  
"We're going to Apparate there. I think it'll be better that way," Harry said. He turned and headed up the short flight of stairs behind his desk when Percy spoke up.  
  
"Um, Harry. I can't Apparate. Neither can Oliver."  
  
"What do you mean you can't Apparate Weasley," Draco asked. "You're strong enough for it."  
  
"No, that's not it. I have never been able to do it. I don't know why but I can't."  
  
Hermione smiled and patted his arm. "Don't worry Percy. Harry and I will carry you and Oliver with us. It's not a problem."  
  
"All right, it's solved then. Come on." Harry headed up the stairs, followed closely by the others. Heading into the back of his office, Harry opened a small door, hidden from the eyes until that moment and led the party up a flight of stairs.  
  
Reaching a door, Harry pushed it open and stepped out into the crisp afternoon air, showing the others that they were standing on one of the central spires of the castle. Smiling at the shock on their faces, Harry motioned the to form a loose circle on the roof. He took hold of Percy's hand while Hermione did the same with Oliver's. Then, almost as an afterthought, Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and smiled at Harry.  
  
"Draco's never been to the Burrow."  
  
Nodding, Harry reached over and took Draco's other hand, earning a surprised glance from his old nemesis. "Don't get used to it Malfoy. I don't want people to think we actually like each other," Harry told him with a cheeky grin. Shaking his head, Draco laughed quietly. Across the circle, Percy reached over and took Oliver's hand, noticing that the taller man looked a bit nervous. "What's wrong Ol?"  
  
"I've never Apparated before."  
  
"Don't worry, since we're all holding hands, I'll just guide the spell and use the four you as back-up."  
  
"Oh, that makes me feel all warm and cozy," Draco said, a sarcastic drawl evident in his voice.  
  
"Be quiet Draco," Hermione said. "We need to concentrate."  
  
Draco could tell she was distracted, so he muttered, "Yes dear."  
  
Oliver laughed and immediately felt the world drop out from underneath him. For a moment, everything around him was total chaos. Nothing made sense, then as quickly as it had begun, everything stopped and returned to normal. Except now they were standing outside of the Burrow.  
  
******** Molly walked into the kitchen, Arthur trailing behind her as Percy led the group inside. "Percy! Harry! What are you doing here?" Molly smiled at her son and her youngest son's childhood friend. "Oliver, looking handsome as ever," earning a grin and blush from Oliver as she kissed him on the cheek. "Hermione, how are you doing dear? Draco, my you look more like your mother every day." Which earned a soft 'thank you' and a smile from Draco.  
  
Molly always knew what to say in almost any given situation to make anyone feel comfortable and at home. Arthur was smiling and already talking quietly to Percy and Harry. "Oh, I see. Molly dear, you might want to listen to this."  
  
"Oh, well all right then. Sit down, all of you, sit. I'll make some tea and then we can get down to business."  
  
"Mum, we don't have time for that," Percy said, waving his hand, cups and pots of steaming tea appeared on the table.  
  
"Percy, what is wrong?" Molly looked a bit worried. Percy never did frivolous things with his magic; he had always thought it wasteful.  
  
"We have a problem. A big one," Harry said. "Lucius Malfoy didn't perish in the battle as we thought. He was trying to rebuild everything they had lost. And there are new Deatheaters."  
  
Molly and Arthur gasped in shock and a sharp voice broke the silence that had just fallen across the room. "Well, why doesn't that surprise me?"  
  
Everyone turned to see Ron standing in the doorway, glaring at Draco. "Hello Ron," Harry said, breaking the silence.  
  
Ignoring Harry, Ron continued to glare at Draco. "What are you doing here? Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Ron was leaning against the doorframe, looking like he had just eaten something sour. "I don't know what you're up to Malfoy but you aren't going to pull us into it."  
  
"You know Weasley, if it weren't for me, then you probably wouldn't be here today," Draco responded standing up. "I'm going back to Hogwarts to see if I can help Snape find anything else." With this said, Draco walked from the house.  
  
"Ron, that was uncalled for," Percy said, rubbing the bridge of his noise.  
  
"Ronald Weasley, that is enough! I can't believe that after all this time you still hold animosity toward him." Hermione was angry, she almost vibrated with it. Ron stood his ground, almost sneering at her.  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the great Hermione Granger. What, sick of sitting at your desk all day at the Ministry?"  
  
"Granger-Malfoy, Ron, remember it."  
  
"How could I forget it? You dumped me for him. Something like that is rather hard to wipe from the memory Hermione."  
  
"Ron, Hermione, that is enough," Harry said loudly, rising to stand next to Hermione. "We have work to do and the last thing we need right now is the two of you picking up old fights."  
  
"Stay out of this Harry," Hermione said, not taking her eyes off Ron. "This has been coming for a long time. With what we have facing us in the near future it's time to end this here and now."  
  
"Fine by me," Ron said. "So, you going to lose the ponce and come back to your senses?"  
  
"Don't keep wishing for things you'll never have Ron. It's beneath you. But then again, there isn't much beneath you is there?" Hermione was smiling slightly as she spoke, her eyes glinting softly. Harry, knowing that look groaned silently and looked around. The others in the room were watching Ron and Hermione with wide eyes. Percy and Oliver were used to their arguments but Molly and Arthur had never witnessed them before.  
  
"Beneath me? I thought marrying a Malfoy was as low as you could get."  
  
"Well, at least I didn't marry my brother's cast-offs," Hermione said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I'm sorry Harry, I can't stay here. Let me know what you decide? Molly, Arthur, it was wonderful to see you again. Percy, Oliver." Saying nothing more, Hermione turned from the table and Apparated right there in the kitchen, leaving silence behind her.  
  
Percy had his head in his hands as Ron started in. "How dare she talk to me like that?!"  
  
"That's enough Ronald!" Molly rose from the table in a fury. "Never in all my life did I ever imagine that you would treat someone like that in this house! I raised you better!"  
  
"Whatever," Ron said. Turning from his mother, he walked through the house. The last thing any of them heard was the front door slamming shut behind him.  
  
Sighing, Harry stood up and looked around the table. "I'm sorry I brought you into this," he said, looking at Arthur and Molly. "I just didn't know who to trust."  
  
"No, it's all right Harry," Arthur said with a small smile. "Just let us know what you need and we'll be more than happy to help."  
  
"Well," Percy said softly. "We thought we would find out if we could bring the children on the list here. The ones that aren't already at Hogwarts."  
  
Looking over at his parents, he saw Molly smile widely. "Of course you can bring them here. It'll be nice to have children around the house again. It's been too quiet here"  
  
Nodding as Molly spoke, Arthur looked at Harry and Percy. "So, when can we expect the first arrivals?"  
  
"Well, I need to contact Cho," Harry said. He frowned slightly as he thought. "I want her to bring the girls here straight away. Then we can work our way down the list."  
  
"That's a good place to start. I'll try and get a hold of Hermione, that is if you want me to Harry," Percy said. He and Oliver were standing by the door, waiting for Harry to say his good-byes.  
  
"No, I'll talk to her. If I know her, she's back at the school, most likely pouring through the Restricted Section of the Library. Either that or in my office looking through the books there." Harry was smiling as he spoke, remembering the long hours Hermione had spent in study while they had attended Hogwarts together.  
  
Nodding, Percy said farewell to his parents and led the three remaining wizards outside. "You think you can Apparate both of us at once Harry?"  
  
Nodding as he grabbed Oliver's and Percy's hands, Harry smiled. "It's a walk in the park." With this said, he Apparated them back to the tower they had left earlier, landing in a heap as the drain became evident on Harry.  
  
"Harry! Are you all right," Oliver called while he helped Percy to his feet.  
  
The younger wizard was climbing to his feet as he groaned. "I've never done it with three people at once before, at least using my own power that is. Sorry about the rough landing."  
  
"Let's not do that again," Percy said, resting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Even you have your limits."  
  
"Trust me, I know," Harry said softly as he led them inside. Once down the stairs and into his office, they found it empty. Percy and Oliver headed for the port key to take them back to the Ministry while Harry went to his desk to contact Cho.  
  
*******  
  
Hermione walked through the halls of the old castle remembering her days here as a student. Hearing a quiet meow she glanced down and came face to face with Mrs. Norris. "Well hello there Mrs. Norris, haven't seen you in quite some time."  
  
"Mrs. Norris, find something my sweet?" Filch's voice drifted around the corner as he walked toward the pair. Rounding the corner he saw Hermione petting the cat and smiling softly. "Mrs. Malfoy, didn't know you were about."  
  
"Just here to gather my husband Mr. Filch. Have a good day." Saying nothing more, Hermione headed towards Snape's office to see if her husband was still helping his old mentor pour over the scrolls.  
  
Coming to the door, she knocked softly then pushed it open to find Snape by himself, glaring at the door. "Ms. Granger. Draco just left. I believe he was headed for the great hall to find some dinner."  
  
Smiling her thanks, Hermione bid the wizard farewell and headed for the great hall. She didn't have to walk far when she saw Draco ahead of her in the hall. Smiling she couldn't contain herself, she whistled sharply, the shrill catcall echoing off the walls of the empty hallway.  
  
Draco spun, his eyes flaring and a smile appearing on his face as he saw his wife walking toward him. "Are you trying to flatter me, Hermione?"  
  
Feigning innocence Hermione simpered at her husband, her eyes giving the game up by sparkling with mischief. "Why on earth would I do that Draco?"  
  
Draco's laugh was sharp and devoid of humor. Glancing closely at him, Hermione frowned. "Are you all right? Don't tell me your still angry about Ron?"  
  
Sighing loudly Draco shook his head. "No, I'm not going to waste my energy being angry at him. I'm just frustrated with this whole affair we've found ourselves in the middle of."  
  
Walking over, Hermione pulled him into a hug, kissing him softly. "We'll get through this just like we always do. We need to fetch the twins."  
  
Nodding, Draco held out his arm to her and grinned. "So be it, to arms madam. For now we release the hounds of war."  
  
Laughing aloud at Draco's well-suited remark on their children, both mirror images of their parents, she hooked her arm in his and walked out into the courtyard. Once there, much to the enjoyment and amusement of the students gathered there, they faced one another, joined hands and Apparated home. 


	4. A Little Down Time?

Chapter 4  
  
Stepping out of the closet, Percy headed for the door to his office. Walking out to Millicent's desk, he spoke with her quietly but urgently for a few moments, then returned to find a very nervous Oliver pacing the room.  
  
"Oliver, what's wrong?"  
  
"I don't like this. It doesn't feel right," Oliver said. He looked at Percy, his eyes filled with confusion. "It seems too easy for us to have found all of that when we did."  
  
"Are you suggesting that this was planted information? That Draco was meant to find it?"  
  
Shaking his head, Oliver resumed his pacing. "I'm not sure. I mean, we both know Draco is trustworthy; he wouldn't do anything to harm Hermione or the twins. Would he?"  
  
Oliver turned on his heel to find Percy standing in front of him. Stopping abruptly, so as not to run over him, Oliver was quickly pulled into Percy's arms. Percy pulled Oliver's head down and kissed him softly. "Don't fret. We'll get to the bottom of this and take care of it. You know that, you were there while we talked about it with Harry."  
  
Sighing, Oliver wrapped his arms around Percy and pulled him into a deep kiss. Moaning softly, Percy melted into the kiss, his lips parting at the insistent probing from Oliver's tongue. "Mr. Weasley?"  
  
'Damn,' Oliver thought as Percy pulled away quickly, a blush rising up his neck.  
  
"Yes, Millicent, what is it?"  
  
"Ms. Granger has returned, she asked to speak with you as soon as possible." With this said, Millicent turned and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her.  
  
"I swear, people around this office must know we're kissing or something," Oliver said with a grin. "They must have a sign around here or something. 'Come now! See the Minister of Magic snogging his hot Quidditch Keeper love slave!'"  
  
Percy wanted to scowl at Oliver but couldn't hold the laughter in. Leaning against Oliver's chest, he laughed for a long moment. Pulling away from him Oliver leaned down and kissed him softly, pulling back before Percy could pull him deeper into the kiss. "Come on, Hermione is waiting for you."  
  
"Oh all right," Percy said, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Heading for the door, he and Oliver walked the short distance down to Hermione's office.  
  
****  
  
Hermione opened the door and almost ran into Percy as he and Oliver tried to walk in. "Oh, Percy, there you are." Draco was standing behind her looking out the window of her office.  
  
"Yes, Millicent said you wanted to talk?" Percy stepped in after Hermione moved aside. Oliver walked in and sat down in one of the available chairs.  
  
"Draco and I just took the twins to the Burrow. We ran into Cho there and she said that Harry wanted all of us to come to the school this evening so we could talk more at length over the situation." "I don't like it," Draco said softly from his position at the window. Oliver turned and looked at him surprise. Draco was still facing out the window as he spoke. "It's too easy. It's almost as if I were led there. As if I was meant to find those documents."  
  
"Well, you found them," Percy said. "But, do either of you want to take the chance that they aren't legitimate?"  
  
Sighing loudly, Draco turned from the window, his mouth twisted in a wry smile. "No, not with all the innocent lives at stake with this. Well, you're both here now, are we going?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione said. "Percy, I think we should use the port key in your office. That way it's not obvious where we're going. You and Draco both have business at the school regularly. However, Oliver and I do not."  
  
"Yes, of course. Well, come on then." Saying nothing more, Percy led the others back to his office. Stopping briefly at Millicent's desk, he told the woman that he and Hermione would be in a meeting with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Wood until late this evening. Walking into his office he knew that Millicent would most likely leave shortly, he knew none of them had to worry about not being seen leaving the office until they returned from Hogwarts later that night.  
  
Leading the four of them to the port key, they headed off to meet with Harry.  
  
****  
  
"Good night Percy, Oliver. Thanks for coming by." Harry led the two men to the door as the rest of the group settled around the room. Hermione and Draco taking chairs by the fire, while Cho went to fetch some tea. After seeing Percy and Oliver off, Harry returned and sat down as Cho came in carrying a tray with a teapot and four cups.  
  
Cho handed Hermione her teacup and perched herself on the arm of Harry's chair. Draco and Hermione were seated in matching armchairs directly across from Harry and his wife. They had waited in Harry's office with Percy and Oliver for Harry to return. He had been meeting with the staff since Cho had left a short while before to drop off their three daughters with the Weasley's.  
  
"I take it the girls put up a bit of a fight when you told them they had to go," Hermione said, placing her teacup on the table between her and Draco.  
  
"Yeah, they weren't too pleased about it," Cho said. Shaking her heard she laughed quietly. "I honestly don't know who's worse, Lily or Jun. They take very closely after Harry and I both when it comes to dominance."  
  
Draco and Hermione grinned at one another as they thought of their own children. The twins couldn't have been more different. Fraternal twins, the boy taking after his mother in looks as well as personality while the girl was an almost perfect carbon copy of her father. "Narcissa and Phillip were rather put off at the idea of spending time at the Burrow," Draco said. "I look at her and wonder how it was that none of you ever killed me while we were in school."  
  
"Not that we didn't want to," Harry told him with a grin. "Trust me, I think Mione wanted to kill you more times than I did.but Ron was the top of that list."  
  
At the mention on the youngest Weasley's name, a silence fell across the group. "He never did forgive me did he," Draco asked softly.  
  
"No matter what we told him, he still believes that you had something to do with Fred's death," Harry told him softly. "Even after explaining that you were with Hermione, he still swore you were involved somehow."  
  
"And George following so quickly behind him," Cho said. Shaking her head she sighed. "Enough, I'm depressed enough as it is. Speaking of twins, I have a hard enough time dealing with the three girls, how do the two of you deal with them?"  
  
"Very carefully!" Everyone laughed as Hermione and Draco sounded off in unison.  
  
Standing up and stretching, Draco held out his hand to his wife and smiled softly. "Well, I think it's best if we follow Percy and Oliver's example and head home for the night. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."  
  
Taking his hand, Hermione stood and smiled at Harry and Cho, whom were both standing.  
  
"Please, stay the night," Cho said. "We have the guest room all set up for the two of you."  
  
"We wouldn't want to impose on you," Hermione said, although the thought of sleeping here did sound nice. She was rather worn out from the day and wasn't looking forward to the trip home.  
  
"We insist," Harry said. "Besides, both of you are going to be here tomorrow anyway. It makes more sense if you just stay the night."  
  
"All right, Potter," Draco said with a mock glare. "But remember.coffee. I want coffee in the morning."  
  
Laughing at Draco, Harry nodded and led the two of them to their room and bade them goodnight.  
  
*****  
  
Walking down the street to their flat, Oliver said nothing, as it was obvious that Percy had been lost in thought. Glancing around as they walked, Oliver noticed that he was looking for any sign that they were being followed. 'I can't believe it,' he though to himself. 'One moment I'm enjoying the peace we have and then my world is turned upside down. Now I'm acting like a paranoid git.'  
  
"You're quiet Ol," Percy said softly, linking his arm in Oliver's and leaning against him as they walked. "This is really bothering you isn't it?"  
  
Oliver sighed. Percy always could read him. "Yeah, that obvious is it?"  
  
Putting his arm around Percy, he hugged him closely and led him up the steps to their flat. Reaching for the door, he heard something and turned to gaze down the street. At the corner was a lone figure, covered in hooded robes; Oliver couldn't make out his face. Looking down at Percy who was opening the door, not noticing the menacing figure. Glancing back down the street, Oliver noted that they figure was gone.  
  
Shaking his head, he turned to follow Percy into the house, noticing his curious expression. "What is it?"  
  
"Nothing," Oliver said with a smile. "Thought I saw something. Must have been my imagination."  
  
Nodding, Percy led him up the stairs and into their rooms. Closing the door behind him, Oliver reached out and pulled Percy to him. "Well, since we don't have roommates, I don't think we'll be interrupted this time."  
  
Not waiting for Percy to respond, Oliver leaned down and kissed him deeply. Reaching up, he unhooked Percy's robes and let them fall to the floor to pool there, quickly joined by his.  
  
Percy reached up and pulled Oliver to him, running his hands up and down Oliver's muscled back. Leaning back, he smiled up at his lover and kissed him again, quickly pulling back. "Come on, let's go to bed."  
  
"I'm not tired," Oliver said, his eyes gleaming.  
  
"Neither am I." Saying nothing more, Percy led him into their bedroom and reminded Oliver how strong their love for one another was.  
  
****  
  
The next day, Harry and Draco headed off to Harry's office to see if they could find out anything there while Hermione and Cho decided to head to Diagon Alley. They figured they could sniff around down there while under the guise of shopping. Walking down the street, Hermione pulled Cho toward Flourish and Blott's as they noticed a group of people coming out of Olivander's. "Is Olivander's having a sale on wands today?"  
  
Hermione hid her smile at Cho's blunt question and pretended to examine a storefront window. "Let's just wait a moment and then we'll head inside and see if we can find out what's going on."  
  
Cho nodded and then pointed at something. "Oh look! They have the new Men of Quidditch calendar! We have to get a copy!" Pulling Hermione by the arm, she led her into the store and quickly ducked behind a stack of books. "Sorry, I didn't think it would be wise if he saw us."  
  
"Who?" Hermione was glancing around the stack of books and saw a face peer into the window. Gasping in surprise, Hermione pulled her head back and stared at Cho. "What's he doing back? I thought he fled when the war started."  
  
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it can't be good. Come on, let's go see if we can get anything out of the old man at Olivander's and then we'll head back to the school. The others need to know about this."  
  
****  
  
Stepping through the doorway, Hermione sighed as she recognized the hallway in front of Harry's office. Turning to wait for Cho, she watched as the other woman pocketed the port key Harry had made her shortly after they had been married. "I wonder if Percy and Oliver are here yet," Hermione said with a grin to Cho.  
  
"Well, let's find out shall we?" Laughing as they walked into Harry's office, they found their husbands long with Percy and Oliver seated around Harry's desk. The four men looked up as they walked in, their faces puzzled.  
  
"What's so funny," Harry asked, looking from his wife to Hermione, a small smile playing on his lips.  
  
"Nothing much," Cho grinned. "Percy, we have something we think you might like to see."  
  
"Oh, all right then," Percy said, confusion evident in his voice. "What is it?"  
  
Walking up to the women, Percy shook his head as the pulled him close and turned their backs to the three men. Percy sighed as Cho pulled an item out of a paper bag and began to flip through it, clearly looking for something. Watching her do this, Percy realized what she had in her hands.  
  
Glancing quickly at Hermione, he grinned like schoolboy and leaned in close to her. "Where did you find this? They weren't supposed to have this out for another month yet!" Percy kept his voice quiet but was having a hard time keeping a lid on his excitement. Then, Cho's face split into a smile as she handed the item to Percy.  
  
Taking it from Cho, he glanced down and came face to face with Oliver Wood, wearing nothing but the pants from his Quidditch uniform and gaped even more when the picture winked at him suggestively. Cho and Hermione cracked up at this when they heard Oliver's voice come from behind them.  
  
"Percy? What are you looking at?" Oliver rose as Percy turned and stared at Oliver. "What's wrong? You look like.oh.. it came out already." Oliver glanced down and saw the open calendar in Percy's hands and paled a bit. Looking around the room, he saw Harry and Draco trying not to laugh as they watched the scene unfold.  
  
Looking quickly back at Percy, Oliver grinned nervously and swallowed. "Love you?" He was backing up as Percy was advancing on him, his eyes twinkling with mischief.  
  
"And to think you complain when people have walked into my office while we were kissing and you're giving suggestive looks and gestures to the entire Wizarding world," Percy said mildly. "This gives me something to contemplate for a bit."  
  
By this time, Percy had backed Oliver against and bookcase and was standing in front of him, looking up at his partner. Oliver was looking around for any exit he could grab, glaring at the other four people in the room, who were enjoying the show. Suddenly, Oliver jumped when he felt movement against his lips as Percy kissed him quickly. "Love you Oliver Wood, my Quidditch Keeper Love Slave," Percy whispered as he finished his kiss."  
  
This was too much for Harry, who was now leaning against his desk laughing loudly as Draco shook his head while Hermione and Cho were clutching each other for support as they laughed. Turning from Oliver, Percy closed the calendar and went to hand it back to Cho, who shook her head and told him that they had bought it for him.  
  
Grinning, Percy turned to Oliver who was blushing and looking rather abashed. "Hey, I'm going to head on over the Burrow. I told Molly and Arthur that I would be back today to help out with the kids." Walking over, he kissed Percy lightly and leaned down to whisper in his ear, causing a Percy to blush himself as Oliver grinned wickedly. "See all of you later."  
  
Before any of them could say anything, Oliver pulled a small gold object out of his pocket, whispered a couple of words and disappeared. "Was that a port key, Percy?"  
  
Turning to regard Harry, Percy nodded. "Yeah, I made it last night. Oliver told me he wanted to help Mum with the kids so I thought it would be best if he had one. That way we wouldn't have to depend on any of you to Apparate us over there anytime we needed."  
  
"Makes sense." Draco said as Hermione cleared her throat. "Now, we need to get serious here."  
  
"Exactly," Hermione said, walking over to stand before the three men. Cho walked around and stood next to Harry as Hermione began to tell them what they had learned while 'shopping' in Diagon Alley. Soon, the three men were interrupting with small questions here and there about certain details. Hermione held up her and to forestall any more questions from them and glanced at Cho. "We also saw Marcus Flint coming out of Olivander's."  
  
"What!!?"  
  
"He was exiled!"  
  
"Hermione, are you sure it was Flint that you saw," Percy's question was soft but insistent. Nodding her head as she spoke, Hermione continued with her tale. "Yes, we're both positive. We saw a group of hooded figures come out of Olivander's and thought it would be best if we weren't seen and ducked into Flourish and Blott's. We used the calendar display in the window as an excuse to rush into the store. Bought a couple why we were there.but that's beside the point." Pausing to look around, she saw Harry and Draco scowling as she stopped. Percy was straight faced but smiling at her with his eyes.  
  
"As we were standing in the store, we saw the group walk by and Marcus looked into the shop. Cho and I both recognized him instantly. Then, after they were gone, we went into Olivander's and found the shopkeeper under the Imperious Curse. He had no choice but to sell Marcus and some of the others new wands."  
  
Harry opened his mouth to say something as they were interrupted by a shout. "FATHER!!! HELP! THE BURROW'S UNDER ATTACK!"  
  
Turning to stare at the fireplace, Harry and Cho saw the features of their oldest daughter, Lily in the flames only to find her vanish quickly before they could ask her anything. Turning to face the rest of the group, they watched as Percy turned white and whispered Oliver's name.  
  
Then, before anyone could say anything, Percy whispered a few words and Apparated before their eyes, leaving the four to stare at the spot he had just vacated.  
  
"I thought Percy couldn't Apparate," Hermione said softly.  
  
"He can now," Harry said, his voice tight. "Let's go, we have kids to save." 


	5. Loss

Disclaimers and such can be found in Chapter One.  
  
Loss  
  
"Damn!" Harry swore loudly as Percy apparated out of the room. Draco strode across the office to his wife. Looking around at the four of them, Harry nodded. "Let's go."  
  
Without another word, the two wizards and their wives disappeared from the room, leaving an empty office as Minerva McGonagall came in. "Headmaster?" Glancing around, she could see that they had left in an apparent hurry and hoped that everything was all right.  
  
Turning and walking out of the office, she activated the locking spell on the room and headed toward the staff room to inform them that most likely, the battle had begun and they needed to get the school's defenses ready.  
  
*****  
  
Harry felt the world twist around him and found himself standing in the living room of the Burrow, children running everywhere. Looking around quickly he spotted Jun pulling some smaller children up the stairs toward the bedrooms. "Jun! Get some of the other children to help you!"  
  
Looking up at her father's voice, Jun smiled long enough to nod and then yelled at her younger sister. "Anne! Get away from there!"  
  
Turning to find his youngest daughter standing at the window he was about call out to her when Cho rushed past him. "Lily! Harry, she's out front with the Weasley's!"  
  
Cursing silently, he pulled Anne to his side and grinned down at her before telling her to go with her sister. Looking around, he saw Hermione herding more children toward the stairs. Draco was nowhere in sight. "Mione! Where's Draco?"  
  
"Outside! He ran out there as soon as he apparated in! Molly, Arthur, Percy, and Oliver are out there! We can't find Narcissa or Phillip!" She was calm but worried about her children, just as Harry was. Nodding at her he rushed toward the door, gently guiding children toward the stairs as he went. Coming to the front door, he saw Draco crouching behind a wooden chest of the porch, his wand out as he fired off at the cloaked figures surrounding the Burrow.  
  
"Draco! How many are there?" Draco turned to answer Harry as they both heard Percy scream.  
  
"OLIVER! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"  
  
Pushing past the door, Harry saw Oliver being held by two Death Eaters while a third knocked him unconscious as Percy raised his wand, his eyes filled with fury. At that moment, Harry spotted two flashes of color out of the corner of his eye. Turning he saw Narcissa and Lily standing next to one another, Phillip crouching next to his twin sister, all three of them flinging curses and charms as fast as the adults. Molly was trying to defend the three children on the porch and wanting to run to Percy's side. Arthur was lying against the wall, holding his arm up to his chest as he tried to stop it from bleeding.  
  
Looking up, Arthur caught his gaze and grimaced. "I'm fine! Help them!" Stepping forward, Harry raised his wand and joined the fight.  
  
*****  
  
Leaning forward, Draco raised his wand and fired off a few spells in various directions, taking out Death Eaters with each curse. Suddenly he heard Narcissa's voice cut across the din. "Now Phillip! Now!"  
  
Risking a glance to his left, he saw his daughter and Lily clasp hands and raise their wands toward the open sky. Before he could even begin to consider what they were doing, he heard them shout in unison. "ACCIO DRAGON!"  
  
Gaping at the two children, he didn't even see the wand being aimed in his direction and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the porch with Harry on top of him. "Draco! You all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, I didn't see." His sentence was cut off as a loud scream of outrage filled the air. Looking past Harry's shoulder, he saw the winged shape in the sky. Harry followed his gaze upward and paled.  
  
"Oh no, they didn't do that! Did they?" Harry was watching the two girls grin at one another as they watched the Death Eaters turn their wands on the dragon. Screaming in rage, the beast began belching fire toward the dark wizards and witches.  
  
Meanwhile, Percy was casting curse after curse, trying to free Oliver from his captors. But before he could do anything to break through their defenses, one of them reached into a pocket and the group disappeared before his eyes.  
  
"NO!" Percy's scream was enough to silence the group outside and attracted the attention of the dragon, which turned toward its new target.  
  
"Percy! Look out!" Harry shouted to his friend who looked up and noticed the creature floating above him. Diving to the left, he avoided being hit by a jet of flames as the dragon screamed again and headed off into the countryside.  
  
***** "Percy!"  
  
Raising his head, Percy could hear his name being called. Glancing around, he saw his mother and father rushing toward him. Rising to his feet, he cast his eyes about and saw a spot of scorched earth across the yard. "Oliver.no."  
  
"Percy! Let me look at you son," Arthur's voice came gently to his ears as his father grabbed him and began to check him over. He glanced up long enough to see the anguish in his son's eyes before Percy collapsed into his mother's arms, crying helplessly.  
  
"There, there, Percy. We'll get him back." Molly's voice was filled with grief as she held her son. "Arthur, go check on the children. We need to make sure none of them are hurt or missing."  
  
Nodding, Arthur turned to see Harry and Draco heading around the house in opposite directions, wands out and ready to fend off any Death Eaters left behind. "Boys! They'll be long gone by now! Come on in the house so we can talk!"  
  
Draco glanced over at Harry who nodded at him. Shaking his head and mouthing silent curses, he walked back into the house to find Hermione scolding their children. Cho was across the room doing the same to Lily. "Philip! Narcissa! You two could have been killed! What were you thinking going out there like that?"  
  
Draco walked over and put his arm around Hermione and grinned at the twins. "You're mother's right. But, you both did very well out there. I'm proud of you."  
  
"Draco! They could have been killed!" Hermione was staring at her husband as though he had lost his mind. When he turned to her and flashed his infamous Draco smile, she sighed in disgust and walked away.  
  
"Now, your mother's right. Narcissa don't interrupt," Draco said, holding up a hand to forestall his daughter's protest. "You both could have been killed. But, I'm still proud of both of you. The two of you handled yourselves very well out there. You're going to be Slytherins yet."  
  
"Don't bet on it Malfoy," Harry called across the living room. "With courage like that, they have Gryffindor written all over them."  
  
"Sod off, Potter," Draco called back with a grin. Just then, he heard the front door open and turned to see Molly and Arthur brining an ashen-faced Percy back inside. "Go upstairs, both of you. No, Narcissa, go!"  
  
***** After watching Draco send the twins upstairs, Hermione headed over and helped Molly get Percy into an overstuffed chair in the living room. "Hermione, dear, could you get some tea?" Molly was looking at Hermione, her face etched with worry.  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
Walking into the kitchen, she heard Percy speak softly. "I'll find him, Mum. I will and when I do, I'll kill them all if they've hurt him."  
  
Heading over to the stove, she spotted a battered teapot resting there. Pointing her wand at it, Hermoine murmured softly under her breath and smiled as steam began to rise from the spout. Looking around she found some cups and made up a tray for all of the adults and carried it out into the living room.  
  
Harry and Draco were talking quietly in the corner while Molly and Arthur had pulled chairs up next to Percy and were talking softly but urgently to him. Setting the tea down on a table she heard Cho come down the stairs. Turning to smile, at her she saw Cho shaking her head. "What's wrong?"  
  
Smiling at her, Cho laughed softly. "They're asleep, all three of them. I don't think they realized how tiring flinging curses and whatnot about like that would be. Jun is having the time of her life entertaining the younger ones."  
  
Hermione handed her a cup of tea and poured one for Molly and Arthur. Walking over, she handed them both a cup and knelt on the floor in front of Percy. "Percy, we'll find him. I promise you that. We will get Oliver back."  
  
"Damn right we will," Draco growled from behind her. Searching Percy's face, she felt him put his hand on her shoulder and felt Draco's resolve. "Flint won't get away with this, Percy. You can count on that. I owe him."  
  
"No," came Percy's soft reply. "This is my fight. I'll get Oliver back. I don't want any of you getting hurt."  
  
"But that's what Marcus wants Percy," Harry said quietly. Walking over to stand next to Hermione and Draco, the young Headmaster stared down at his friend. "He wants you, he always has. This is just a ploy to get you to come after him so he can crush you by making you watch while he destroys Oliver."  
  
Harry's words were spoken softly but clearly in the room. No one said anything else for a while. Finally, Percy looked up and blinked away the last of his tears. "All right, what now? I'm sorry about the way I acted. I shouldn't have taken off like that. I could have caused more trouble than I did by doing that."  
  
"Nonsense!" Molly said loudly. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I don't think your father and I would have lasted much longer. Percy dear, this isn't your fault!"  
  
Sighing loudly, Percy reached up and ran his hands through his hair. He made to rise, yet instead faltered sideways. Hermione and Harry caught him before he could fall and helped him right himself. "Percy, you're exhausted. You're not going to be able to do anything like this. Why don't you go up to your old room and get some rest?" Arthur's suggestion earned nods from everyone in the room.  
  
"All right then, up we go," Molly said. Putting her arm around Percy's shoulders, she led him upstairs and out of sight. "Wait a moment!" Hermione said after Molly and Percy were out of sight. "Doesn't Oliver have their portkey? The one Percy made for him?"  
  
"Not anymore." Turning at Cho's soft comment, they saw her standing in the kitchen doorway, holding the small replica of a snitch in her hand. "I found it on the table."  
  
"Oliver must have set it down when he came in," Arthur said. "Damn!" Arthur cursed loudly as the tense atmosphere in the room spiked.  
  
"What now?" Grim faces answered Hermione's question as the group realized they had no clue where to start looking.  
  
TBC 


	6. Memories

Chapter 6  
  
Memories  
  
Molly waved her wand before her, opening the door to Percy's old bedroom. Once through the door, she guided her son to the bed, everything in the room was as he had left it when he had moved in with Oliver. The bed still creaked slightly under Percy's slight weight as she settled him onto its worn springs. Laying him down gently, she removed his shoes and pulled a knitted afghan up over his chest and kissed him gently on the forehead.  
  
"Thanks Mum," Percy said softly. His eyes were filled with sorrow and a hardness that she had never seen in his eyes before. "I'm going to get him back. I have to."  
  
"I know Percy, I know. Rest now, you've had a long day. I'll bring you up some tea and some soup later, how's that sound?" Molly was beside herself. It was times like these that she hated being a mother to so many. All of her children needed her, what few she had left at any rate. The twins, whose constant pranks and jokes had given her more than her fare share of gray hairs, silenced during the war. Bill killed quietly one night while he was in Asia looking for some item for Gringots, that not even Percy had been able to find out what it had been. Ginny.her precious daughter. She had been defiant to the end. Standing beside Voldemort during the battle, using her wand to cast curse after curse.  
  
Molly had been in a rage when she had seen that it had been Ginny who had struck down Fred, causing Voldemort to turn his focus on George who charged her, seeing only blood in his eyes and wanting revenge in that instant. Watching her family being torn apart was almost more than Molly could bear, but there had been Percy, sweeping her aside and casting a counter-curse at Voldemort and glaring defiantly at Ginny as she had laughed wickedly. "Don't go far, Percy-dear! I want to have fun with you later!" Ginny's laughter still rang clear in her head.  
  
Percy had handed her off to Minerva who carried her to the back of the battlefield. She hadn't been there when the most powerful of them had cast that final spell, turning Volemort and his followers to little more than dust on the open field. She knows that the voice she had heard calling for her in that horrible moment had been her mind playing tricks with her sanity but to this day she would swear that she could hear Ginny calling for her.  
  
Taking a deep, but shaky breath, Molly gathered herself and walked down the stairs, wiping at her eyes. She didn't think it would be wise if the others noticed her crying when she came back into the room.  
  
*  
  
Percy sighed as Molly closed the door, leaving him in the spelled silence of the room. Rolling over onto his side, he saw the sky changing to the dark hints of evening as the sun set. Instantly, before he could stop them, the tears came in a flood bringing with them the pain and anguish that Oliver's loss had given him. Thankfully, sleep claimed him quickly.  
  
Waking a few hours later, he found a tray on his old dresser, the glow of the warming charm keeping the food hot. Rising from his bed, he walked across the room, only wanting the tea. When he reached for the teapot the charm dissolved and the scent of the hearty soup filled his nose. Realizing he was extremely hungry, as his stomach made its empty state known, quite loudly, he carried the tray to his bed and sat down to eat.  
  
Percy ate as though he were in a trance. Before he realized it, the bowl was empty and the only thing remaining on the tray was the half-drank pot of tea. Placing the tray back on his dresser he poured another cup of tea and walked over to the window. Thankfully, the window overlooked the garden in the back of the house. As he watched the garden gnomes ran about freely, taking advantage of the absence of people to return to the yard. Looking down on them, memories flooded unbidden to the surface of his mind and he found himself standing on the grass..  
  
*  
  
The sun was warm on his face as he smiled up into it, letting it bathe him in its golden heat. "Careful there, Percy. You're going to get more freckles." Oliver's voice carried across the garden where he was pulling at a particularly stubborn gnome. "Come on, blast you!"  
  
Percy laughed as Oliver pulled the gnome free and quickly landed on his backside with a grunt. "I warned you they would knock you on your arse, Ol!" Percy laughed loudly as Oliver glared at him and swung the gnome over the hedge.  
  
*  
  
Walking through Trafalgar Square in London, on a mission for the Ministry's Dept. of Intelligence, only to find Oliver appearing before him, smiling and holding a dozen roses. They had spent the rest of the day walking hand in hand through Victoria Park and sharing lunch.  
  
*  
  
Two years ago, a night so different from this. Thunder rumbled loudly across the sky, making the windows panes of their flat rattle. Lightning streaking through the night, leaving after images to linger in their eyes. Fevered lovemaking on the roof in the pouring rain, reveling in the raw power of the rain. Loosing himself in the passion as Oliver was able to bring both of them to release over and over again throughout the night.  
  
*  
  
Watching Oliver play Quidditch for Puddlemere United. Feeling the thrilling exhilaration of the crowd. Reveling in the heat and sweet pain of the rough celebratory sex afterwards.  
  
*  
  
Percy raised a hand to his face, to brush away the few silent tears that flowed. Stopping he stared at his hand and saw the ring he was wearing. Wondering if its twin was still on Oliver's own hand or if his captors had removed it. They had been spelled but only to tell the other if they were in pain or dead. Now, he wished he had been more insistent about placing more charms on them. If he had, then Oliver would already be back in his arms and not being held by Marcus Flint.  
  
Gazing that the ring, he remembered the night Oliver had presented it to him. He had come home from work to find the flat filled with candlelight, the warm smell of amber incense filling the air with its earthy scent. Putting down his things, he heard something behind him and turned, expecting to see Oliver, but finding Hermes instead.  
  
The small owl had hooted at him softly before hopping down the table to peck softly at his hand before offering his foot to him. Blinking in surprise he found a small box tied there with a simple red bow. Reaching into a small bowl on the table, he had given a cracker to Hermes and took the box, allowing the small owl to head back to his perch in the corner.  
  
Opening the box, he had gasped at the ring inside. It was a band of gold with a diamond in the middle and two garnets on each side, followed behind by two citrines. Pulling it out of the box, he felt the magic trickle across his hand and heard the soft voice behind him. "It's in Gryffindor's colors because that's where we found each other."  
  
"Oliver, I don't understand. It's beautiful." Percy stopped, his voice hitching as tears of joy filled his eyes and his heart soared.  
  
"Make it final Percy. Be complete with me, please?" The last part was spoken in a whisper as Oliver crossed the room and knelt on the floor in front of Percy. "Spend forever with me."  
  
Nodding his head, he smiled as Oliver slipped the enchanted ring onto his finger. It was then that Percy saw that Oliver was wearing a matching ring. As Oliver's fingers pulled back and brushed his, he felt the power in the ring slide across his skin, making him shiver. "Yes, I will. To the end and beyond."  
  
*  
  
Glancing once again at the ring, he winced as he felt a pain come through the ring and knew instantly what it was. Marcus Flint. He had Oliver now and was torturing him. Cradling his arm to his chest, he sank onto the bed and swore softly; cursing Marcus to every level of hell he could remember. The tears coursed down his face in a steady flow as he vowed over and over again what he would do when he held Oliver in his arms once more.  
  
Percy was so caught up in the thirst for revenge and loss he never heard the door open as Hermione stepped into the room. Walking across the floor, she saw that Percy was crying, holding both of his hands against his chest, and silently went to sit down next to him.  
  
As she sat, Percy looked over at her and fell into her outstretched arms and cried piteously. Hermione said nothing, only remained in silence and stroked his hair softly, wetting it with her own tears. Since she had started working for Percy at the Ministry the two of them had become very close. It seemed almost fitting that she replaced one Weasely with another. Ron had all but abandoned their friendship when she and Draco had wed.  
  
They sat there until the sun was gone and the only light in the room was that of the lone candle sitting on the bedside table. Finally, Hermione felt Percy pull back and smiled at him softly. "We'll get him back Percy. You know that."  
  
"I know Hermione. I know. It still hurts though." In that moment, he felt the ring flare again and hissed as the pain bit home flooding his hand in fire.  
  
"Percy? What is it?" Hermione watched as Percy grasped his hand and massaged it gently around the ring. "Your ring, it's enchanted?"  
  
Nodding, Percy looked at Hermione and smiled softly. "It was a gift from Oliver five years ago. He has one identical to it."  
  
"Wherever did you find them? They're beautiful! I wonder why I've never noticed them before tonight."  
  
"We usually keep them charmed so that the only ones who can see them is us. One of the chasers on Oliver's team has a sister who's an Auror. She enchanted them for him with the same spells they use to use on pureblood wedding bands, except for the infidelity spell. She told him she couldn't see why either of us would be interested in that part of it."  
  
Hermione laughed. "Well considering that all one has to do is watch the two of you for any length of time can tell you're both completely besotted with one another."  
  
Percy laughed at Hermione's sarcastic statement of truth. Turning to smile at her, he heard the door creak open slowly and turned to see who it was. As the door stopped two small heads crept around the wooden door to stare into the room, eyes filled with concern. "Hello Phillip, Narcissa."  
  
Hermione turned to smile at her children as Phillips voice came quietly across the room. "Mom? Is Uncle Percy ok?" Narcissa nodded slightly as Hermione and Percy rose from the bed. Taking that as their cue, both children walked into the room, followed by Lily.  
  
"I'm fine Munchkins. Thank you." Percy smiled down at the three children.  
  
Philip and Lily exchanged grins while Narcissa simply nodded brusquely and then smiled softly, something that wasn't often seen on her solemn face. "Uncle Percy, don't worry about Uncle Oliver. We'll help you get him back."  
  
"Thank you Narcissa. The thought is greatly appreciated." Turning to look at Hermione his face became thoughtful for a moment. "There is something I want to ask your mother though, so if the three of you will excuse us?"  
  
"Oh, sure!" Philip stammered his reply as he ushered a giggling Lily and a rather disgruntled Narcissa out the door.  
  
"What is it Percy?" Hermione turned to stand in front of Percy, her brow knit in mild worry.  
  
"I know the children were outside this afternoon, when everything was happening. They were there when I arrived. However, before I could order them back inside, the death eaters had grabbed Oliver." Percy stopped for a moment, lost in thought. "I don't remember much after that, except for the dragon. Why do I have the feeling that the children were involved in that?"  
  
Hermione blushed as Percy asked her the calm question. Finally glancing up at him, she sighed and nodded. "Narcissa and Lily were. Philip was protecting them while they cast the charm. So now have a dragon roaming the countryside. I can just imagine what kind of trouble it's causing. Don't worry about it though, when I came up here, your dad was talking to Charlie about coming to retrieve it. He should be here tomorrow." Hermione trailed off, not sure what to say next. As she looked at him silently, Percy turned to stare out the window. "So, where do we go from here?"  
  
Sighing, Percy shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I'm not sure. I'm honestly not sure. Let's head downstairs before my Mum sends in backup, thinking I've lost it and decided to kill you and hide the body."  
  
Hermione laughed, relieved that Percy was well enough to make jokes. "Well, just remember, if you ever decide to do that, the backup will most likely be my husband."  
  
"Eh, I'm not worried. I think I can take your little ferret." Percy winked at Hermione.  
  
"Percy! I can't believe you said that!" Hermione laughed as she tried to reprimand him, realizing that she was fighting a loosing battle. "Enough! I surrender!"  
  
*  
  
Heading down the stairs and into the living room, Percy saw that most of the children from earlier were gathered in groups around the large living room. Some of them were playing games, such as Exploding Snap or Wizards Chess. Others were talking quietly or listening while they were read a story by one of the older children. Turning toward the kitchen Percy stopped as they saw the confrontation taking place there.  
  
Ron was standing in the doorway in front of them, his back to them as he talked into the kitchen. Penelope was standing beside him, her head held high in an almost arrogant fashion that seemed better suited to Hermione or Narcissa than her.  
  
As they listened to the conversation, Percy sighed with a mixture of frustration and anxiety. "This is all your fault, Malfoy! If you hadn't come into our lives, none of this would have ever happened."  
  
"You're right Ron, it wouldn't have happened, you want to know what would have happened? You would be dead now, along with your entire family and that includes Hermione and Harry as well. Voldemort would have won and killed the lot of you that night, instead of vice versa. What is it with you and this vendetta against me?"  
  
"I never did understand what Hermione saw in you," Ron said, his voice filled with disdain. "She would have been better off where she was before she decided to run off with a sod like yourself."  
  
"Ronald Weasley, that's quite enough," Molly said, standing up and coming around the table. "I've have had it with you and your petty grievances against Draco. He has proven himself a hundred fold and you still want him to be the bad guy in everything! It's ridiculous!"  
  
"Well, if I can see it, I don't know why Hermione is so blind that she can't," Ron fired back heatedly at his mother.  
  
"Maybe it's because I'm not blinded by my jealousy over losing something you weren't meant to have," Hermione said softly. She was fed up with trying to mediate between the two of them. Moving around Percy she walked across the kitchen to stand next to Draco and their children. "I found a love that completed me Ron, something I could never find with you, I'm sorry. I never mean to hurt you."  
  
"Oh, of course, just like Percy never mean to hurt Penny." Ron was trembling in anger now. Penelope kept her face calm and stood behind Ron like a watchdog.  
  
"Leave me out of this Ron," Percy said, anger coloring his words slightly. "I want nothing to do with your squabbles. What occurred between Penelope and myself is precisely that, between Penelope and myself. I think you should leave."  
  
Spinning to glare at Percy, Penelope stormed out without even waiting for Ron. Ron glared at his older brother. "Maybe they should have taken you instead of Oliver, at least he was good at something."  
  
Percy's eyes narrowed and he felt the blush creep up his neck when Harry stepped between them. "Ron, if you and I were ever friends, you'll drop this right now and leave before something happens." Harry's voice was quiet as he spoke but carried clearly across the quiet house. All sounds of the children playing in the living room had stopped and all eyes were turned toward the red-haired man standing before them.  
  
Without another word, Ron turned and stormed from the house, slamming the door behind him. Harry turned to look at Percy. Reaching out, he placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Sorry about that Percy, I honestly don't know what has gotten into him lately."  
  
"It's all right. It's not your fault. Look, it's late, why don't we get the children to bed and let the four of you head home. I think I'm going to stay here tonight before heading back into the office tomorrow."  
  
Draco walked over and stood next to Harry. "We've talked about this while you were upstairs and decided that it would be best if we take the children to Hogwart's. Molly said that since Arthur is all right, she would accompany us and care for the children while they are there and I know that they would love it at the castle."  
  
Nodding thoughtfully, Percy agreed. "Yes, that might be for the best after all. I'll see you out." After almost a half hour of gathering the children and flooing them to the great hall of the school. Percy said his good-byes to his friends and promised his mother he would be fine, he realized how tired he was, regardless of the fact that he had slept earlier that evening.  
  
Checking on Arthur, to see if he needed anything, he bid him good night and he walked back up the stairs and to his bedroom. Once there, he looked around the room and spotted a picture frame on his dresser. Walking over to it, he picked it up and watched it for a moment. It was from his birthday party just after graduation. Oliver was covered in the cake he had been carrying into the living room when it had exploded.  
  
The twins are in the background grinning, obviously proud of themselves, while Oliver was glaring at Percy who was bent over laughing wildly. Watching the picture move before him, Percy smiled and walked over to the bed, still holding the frame. Reclining back against he headboard, he watched the scene again and again until sleep came to him, lulling him silently into a deep, dreamless oblivion.  
  
TBC 


	7. Reality Bites

Authors Note: This is a WIP.  With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one.  Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story.  The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros.  I am making no money off this (would be nice though…laugh) 

Sins of the Father

Chapter 7

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Harry and Minerva helped Molly settle in the children in the south tower of the school.  Harry was fairly certain that they would be safe here.  Away from the rest of the students was the safest bet at this point.  He and Minerva had discussed it with Molly and all three voiced their concerns about that.  None of the three wanted to take the chance that any of the students would divulge the location of the children to their parents. 

Bidding Minerva goodnight, he headed off to his own quarters, eager to find his bed after the long day he'd had.  Turning the hall, he quickly found the hidden door and whispered the password.  Slipping inside he smiled when he heard the laughter of his daughters.

Walking into the den, he laughed aloud when he spotted his three daughters wrestling with a large black dog.  The animal had Anne and Jun by the collars of their robes, shaking them softly while growling playfully.  Lily was on it's back, with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around its midsection as she laughed with delight.  The dog, tail wagging rapidly quickly bucked, knocking Lily to the floor and then dropping the other two girls, pounced on Lily and proceeded to lick her furiously.

Fighting to hold back his laughter, he saw movement off to his left.  Glancing over, he spotted Cho standing next to Remus, both of them laughing at the display on the floor.  Nodding his head, he smoothed his robes and stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly.  "Ahem!  Shouldn't the three of you be in bed?  Not playing on the floor with that mangy cur?"

Harry had no sooner finished his question and quickly found himself toppled to the floor with three smiling, flushed faces and one fur covered one staring down at him.  "Ok, I surrender!"  Laughing, he climbed off the floor and hugged his children to him.  "All right you three, to bed.  You've had your fun with your uncle, now off with you!"

"Now, Harry, I don't think that was particularly fair," Sirius said.  Glancing up, Harry saw that he was in human form again and smiling broadly.  Releasing the girls, he walked over and hugged his godfather tightly for a moment. 

"It's good to see you, Sirius."  Harry said softly.  "I could really use your advice right now."

"What's the problem?  We arrived to find Minerva almost beside herself with worry.  She tells me that a group of you went missing after finding some startling evidence of the Dark Arts.  What's going on Harry?" 

Before Harry could answer Sirius, Cho walked over.  "Let me get the girls to bed before we start this, I don't want to frighten them."

Nodding at his wife, he grinned as Remus came up to join his best friend.  "Why do I have this feeling that we've arrived in the middle of something bad, Harry?"

"You hit it on the head, Remus.  We're not exactly sure what's going on but so we've found out…"

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Percy woke in the morning, disoriented for the moment at the strange bed he was in.  It was much too small for the one that he and Oliver shared.  It was in that moment that reality came crashing back down like a wave on the shore.  Swallowing the lump in his throat that threatened to bring back the tears, he stood up, not seeing the picture until it slid from his lap to land with a soft thump on the carpeted floor.

Reaching down, he picked it up and walked over to the dresser, unconsciously dusting the frame as he set it in place with the other pictures.  "There, perfect."  Turning from the dresser, he headed into the bathroom and prepared himself for work that morning.  Coming back to his room, he ran his wand over his Ministry robes, cleaning the quickly and removing any wrinkles. 

Once dressed and ready for the day, he came downstairs, to find Arthur sitting in the kitchen drinking his tea.  "Ah, good morning Percy."  Arthur grimaced as he took a drink from the cup.  "Blasted stuff, I can never get it right."

"Here Dad, let me get that for you," Percy said, smiling at his father.  Walking around the table, he began preparing breakfast for the two of them.  He talked as he worked.  "What would you like to eat this morning?  I have plenty of time before I have to be at the office so I can make you whatever you like."  
  
"Just some bacon and eggs will be fine Percy," Arthur laughed.  He was sitting behind his Daily Prophet, just as he had every morning.  Percy placed a fresh pot of tea and filled his father's cup before returning to the stove.  Arthur reached out and picked up the cup and sipped.  Setting it down, he sighed with pleasure.  "Percy, I'm not sure, but I think it may be better than your mother's tea."

"Thank you Dad."  Percy smiled at Arthur and then turned back to the stove.  Waving his wand about the kitchen, he began to cook.  "How about some waffles?  Oliver likes waffles, I fix them for him every morning."  As Percy finished his sentence, the milk jug collided with a large batter bowl, causing both to shatter loudly.  "Damn!"  Percy swore softly as he bent to clean up the mess.    
  
Arthur, watching from his seat, stood up and came around the table.  Kneeling down beside Percy, he touched the back of Percy's hand softly, making Percy flinch away from him and hide his eyes, wet with new tears.  "Son, we'll get him back.  Have faith in your friends.  Harry won't let you down, you know that."

"I know," Percy whispered.  "I miss him so much.  This is the first night I've spent without knowing where he was.  We always knew where the other was, ever since the handfasting.  Now, I have no idea where he is and it scares me."  Percy stopped, his voice breaking slightly.  Shaking his head, he stood up quickly.

"I know, Percy," Arthur said.  Rising, he put his hands on Percy's shoulders and smiled at his son.  "I think waffles would be great."

Laughing softly, Percy nodded and turned to the stove.  While he finished preparing the meal, Arthur cleaned up the broken glass and milk from the floor.  Once everything was finished the two men sat down and enjoyed their breakfast, Arthur kept Percy talking through the meal, keeping his mind off of Oliver and the troubles still ahead. 

After finishing off a second cup of tea, Percy nodded briskly and stood up.  "Well, I've lazed about enough this morning.  I need to be going.  I'll see you this evening Dad."

"Have a good day today Percy," Arthur said around his paper.

"Well, I'll be off," Percy said, walking toward the door.  He no sooner let the door close behind him than he realized that he had no way of getting to work.  He still wasn't sure how he had apparated here from Hogwarts in the first place.

"Forget something son?" 

Percy jumped at the sound of Arthur's voice.  He watched his father walk out the door, his robes on and holding his wand.  "I thought I might accompany you to the office today, maybe take a gander around Diagon Alley and join you for lunch?  How does that sound?"

Smiling his thanks, Percy nodded as Arthur came up next to him and put his arm around Percy's shoulders.  Raising his wand slightly, Arthur whispered the spell and the next thing Percy knew, they were standing in Diagon Alley.  Thanking his father, Percy headed off toward the Ministry building and his work.  Arthur smiled and waved to his son before heading down the street, whistling softly as he did.

=&=&=&=&=&=&=

Percy threw himself into his work that morning.  He was concentrating on the rough draft of a new treaty with the Asian wizarding world that he didn't even hear Millicent open the door and call his name.  He jumped when she put her hand on his shoulder.  Looking up with a gasp, he found himself staring into her concerned eyes.  "Millicent, forgive me, you needed something?"

"I just wanted to inform you that you have visitors, Minister."  Millicent waited for his nod before admitting the group to his office.  He watched as Harry, Draco, Hermione, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin entered the room.  Remus and Hermione seated themselves in the two armchairs directly in front of his desk.  Harry and Draco started talking quietly, but quickly, with Sirius, firing questions back and forth rapidly.  "Will there be anything else, sir?"

"Yes, could you arrange for some tea and sandwiches are brought up for us?  I believe that I will be in here for the rest of the day, and most likely won't have time to break for lunch.  Make sure we have enough to go around," Percy said with a smile.  Nodding her head, Millicent walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Percy regarded the group before him.  With the exception of Oliver and his parents, these were his closest friends.  The ones he knew he could trust with anything.  Hermione looked exhausted as she sat talking quietly with Remus.  The older werewolf smiled easily, laughing at whatever she was telling him.  Most likely some tale of the twins, Percy mused.

Looking over at Harry, Draco, and Sirius he could see their conversation was beginning to become a bit heated.  Draco looked furious.  He was pointing his finger back and forth between the two other men as he spoke.  Rising from his seat, Percy was about to ask them what was wrong, when Hermione beat him to it.

"Draco?  Whatever is the matter?  You like about ready to skin one, or both of them."  Hermione was standing next to Remus, confusion written across her face.

Turning to regard his wife, he stalked away from the two men, glaring at them.  "No, and that's final.  Don't bring it up again."

"Bring what up again," Hermione asked, her voice taking on a slight edge.  "Draco?  Harry?"

Draco shook his head.  "Don't even think about it Potter.  I said no."

"Draco, just a moment," Percy said softly.  Walking around his desk, he regarded the gathered people for a moment.  "Now, what was it the three of you have been talking about over there that has Mr. Malfoy somewhat miffed?"  He leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms over this chest, waiting.

"I would like to know the same thing," Hermione told them.  Walking over to stand next to Percy, she leaned back against the desk with Percy and stared at the three men.

"Well Sirius, Remus, Cho, and I were talking last night.  We think we may have come up with a small solution to part of our problems," Harry said.  He was looking at the floor, his brown knit in concentration. 

"Agh!  I already told you no!"  Draco threw his hands up in the air, frustration showing.

"Draco, hush!  Go on Harry."  Hermione glared at her husband before motioning for Harry to continue.

"Well, we realized that while we can't discount all of the children on the list, but we have to accept the reality that our children would be in the most danger.  Lily, Jun, Anne, Narcissa, and Phillip.  Sirius and Remus suggested sending them to the Salem Academy with them.  I know the Headmistress there, she and I have become fairly good friends since I took on Hogwarts and I think she would agree to house you, Cho, and the children there until we can get everything taken care of."  Harry looked at Hermione as he finished explaining everything.  Sirius was beside him, nodding his head as Harry spoke. 

"What?  I'm not hearing this?  You expect me to pack up my children and run?"  Hermione rose from the desk, her face coloring as she began to lose her temper.

Draco smirked at Harry and Sirius as he watched.  Percy however, reacted differently.  Reaching out, he placed a soothing hand on Hermione's shoulder, stopping her tirade before she started.  "Wait a moment Hermione.  Think about this.  I like the idea.  It's sound and makes sense.  Remus and Sirius will be there with you, so you don't have to worry about the children not knowing anyone else besides you and Cho.  Plus, the American schools accept the children at a much younger age then we do here.  They could get a 'jump start' as it were, on their education.  Plus, keep them out of harms way."

"Percy!  I can't believe you're siding with them on this!"  Hermione turned to stare at him in shock and mild outrage.  "I thought you of all people would have agreed with me on this!  I am not going to take my children and run with them and hide like some fugitive!"

"There's nothing wrong with hiding when the lives of your children are at stake Hermione," Percy said softly.  Standing up, he walked over and placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders, making her look him in the eye.  "My parents hid all of us as children so that we would be safe.  Harry's parents did the same with him.  I will concede that both situations had different outcomes but the desire to protect the innocent was the same."

Eyeing Percy for a moment, Hermione sighed, knowing that Percy was correct.  She wasn't thinking about Narcissa or Phillip in that moment.  She should have been ashamed of herself!  Here they were trying to protect her children and she's throwing a tantrum because she thought they were doing this because she though they felt she couldn't defend herself.  "You're right.  I'm sorry Harry, Sirius.  I wasn't thinking clearly.  I assume Cho has already agreed to this?"

"Yes, she is getting the girls ready as we speak.  Speaking of that, where are the twins?"

"With my parents," Hermione said.  "Draco and I talked about it last night.  We thought it would be a good idea for them to hide in Muggle London while we figured out whether or not to send them to Hogwarts with the other children."  
  
"Hermione, Draco, are you sure that was a wise thing to do," Percy asked, voicing the unspoken opinion of the four men. 

"Of course!  My parents moved recently and changed their names.  They would be almost impossible to find," Hermione said with a grin.  "With everything that happened to them during the war, being my parents and all, they thought it would be best to make a completely new life for themselves and finally were able to accomplish it, with Draco's help of course."

"I see," Harry said, eyeing Draco and Hermione through narrowed eyes.  Finally, he laughed, shaking his head as he did so.  "Makes sense though.  Most of the people on that list wouldn't know their way around Muggle London enough to find them, much less anything else.  I assume your mother and father both have protection?"

"The best my money can buy, after being exchanged to Muggle money at Gringots of course," Draco said with a grin. 

Shaking their heads, the rest of the room laughed quietly.  Percy broke the silence by clearing his throat as Millicent brought in the tea and sandwiches.  "Thank you Millicent, that will be all.  Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Of course, Minister, you have a nice day," Millicent said with a small smile.  Turning to the rest of the group, she nodded at them and smiled, closing the door as she walked out.

After the door was closed, Percy regarded the group silently for a moment before speaking, the noticed all of them trying to be discreet while watching him closely.  Realizing that they were watching was unsettling for Percy, then he realized why they were watching him the way they were.  They were worried.  After what had happened the day before and the way he had reacted to it, it was no surprise they were worried.  The question was though, what were they worried about exactly?  His mental health?  His ability to lead them as Minister of Magic?  "All right, I know what all of you are thinking.  I'm fine.  Don't worry about it."

Hermione walked over and hugged him tightly.  "I know you are.  But that doesn't mean we can't worry about you.  After all, what are friends for?"  Pulling away from him, she grinned devilishly at him.  "But that still doesn't excuse the fact that I don't to leave.  Can't I just send the children with Cho?"

"What?  You want to do what?  Hermione, I'll tell you the same thing I told them.  No!  And that's final!"  Draco pulled Hermione around to face him, his face set in stubbornness and that good ol' Malfoy arrogance.

His outburst at her just spurred Hermione into anger.  "You and I might be married Draco Malfoy, but that doesn't mean you rule me!  I'm taking the children to the United States with Cho!  This discussion is over!"

As Hermione turned from him and stormed across the room, the others stared after her in shock.  Harry glanced over at Draco and saw him smirk to himself a bit.  Realizing what Draco had done, Harry coughed slightly to cover a smile of his own.  Turning back to the group, he saw Draco glance at him in confusion, not realizing that Harry had caught him at his ruse.  The funny thing about it was that Harry couldn't believe that Hermione had fallen for it.

"Harry?"  Hermione turned from the window and looked at her one of her best friends, her brow knit in concern.  "Are you sure you can handle this without me?  It took all three of us to defeat Voldemort.  What if Flint, or whoever is behind this is stronger?"

Harry sighed as the tension in the room climbed a notch.  He had thought about it, not wanting to accept the possibility.  But, now that it was voiced openly and staring him in the face, he couldn't deny it any longer.  "Well, we're a lot stronger now.  Besides, do you really think Ron would join us again?  After everything that's happened?  Don't worry about it; I've got Draco and Percy with me.  We'll stop them, whatever it takes."

Draco and Percy said nothing, only nodded their heads.  Hermione smiled at Harry and nodded herself.  "Well, if we're going to be making this trip I suppose I should collect the twins so we can get packed."  Glancing around the room she gave them all a wary expression.  "I assume we are going to be allowed to pack?"

"Of course you are Hermione," Remus said, stepping forward and sliding her arm through his.  "Let's go and collect your children.  I'm rather eager to meet them.  I understand your daughter is a female copy of her father."

"Oh she is at that!"  Hermione laughed at Remus's comment and walked with him toward the door.  Pausing long enough to give Harry a quick hug, she told him to be brave and that she loved him.  Turning to Percy, she pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly, promising that he would get Oliver back, alive and well, she just knew it.  Then she turned and walked over to Draco, glaring at him for a moment before reaching up and kissing him.  Deeply.

Stunned, Draco stood there for a moment before kissing her back, wanting to melt into her arms and never leave.  It amazed him at the effect she could have on him.  As she pulled back, he heard the snickering around the room and chose to ignore.  In that moment, the only thing in the world that existed for him was his wife.  "Take care of yourself as well as the hellions, understand?"

"I will.  Watch over Harry and Percy for me?  They both need you very much right now."

"I will.  Love you, mud blood," Draco whispered, grinning as Hermione shook her head in mock dismay at him.

"Love you too, ferret."  Leaning forward she kissed him softly on the lips before turning and walking from the room with Remus.

TBC


	8. Foreign Lands

Authors Note: This is a WIP.  With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one.  Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story.  The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros.  I am making no money off this (would be nice though…laugh) 

Sins of the Father

Chapter 8

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"I never want to do that again," Cho said as she walked into the rooms that she, Hermione, and Penny would be sharing while in the US.  "I don't understand how Muggles can do that all the time.  No wonder their life spans are shorter than ours."  Hermione and Penny laughed at Cho's shudder, setting their own things down.

"Relax Cho.  I've ridden in planes plenty of times before.  I just wish your first flight had been more pleasant.  That storm we rode through was rough."  Hermione smiled at Penny as she began to take their rain soaked robes to hang on the wall to dry.  "All right, first order of business is that we need to change and have the kids change as well."

"I can't believe that they live so closely to the Muggle world over here," Penny said as she walked back over.  "I mean, I realize that there really isn't that much physical space between our world and the Muggle world in England but they don't even bother to hide the school here."

"I know, we ought to ask Sirius and Remus about it when they get back with the children."  Hermione began to pull clothes out of her suitcase, setting out the clothes she had also brought for Penny and Cho.  All three women were approximately the same size, the main exception being Hermione.  She was a bit bustier than the other two.  "Here, I made sure I brought enough clothes for all three of us while we're here.  Plus, Sirius and Remus are going to exchange our money for us so we'll be able to go shopping for more clothes later."

She watched the other two women take the clothes and begin to change.  She busied herself with beginning to put her things away since she was already in Muggle clothing, having put on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt before leaving home for the airport with Remus and the children.  She had been a bit surprised to find Penny and her two children waiting in the terminal with Cho and her three girls.

She found out from Sirius that Harry had managed to convince Ron to allow them to take Penny and their kids with them since their children were on the list as well.  Harry had scared Ron with showing him the lists and other documents that Draco had discovered, leaving out the fact that they had come from Draco and not another source.

Ron had, reluctantly agreed to send Penny and their two children to safety in the states.  Their two children.  That was a worry spot for Hermione.  The youngest was a doll.  Nimue was all smiles and giggles.  Of course, what little girl at the age of three wasn't like that?  Narcissa wasn't but that's an entirely different scenario.  She smiled to herself as she remembered the twins at that age.  Phillip had been a spit and vinegar, getting into anything he could get his hands on while Narcissa had stood back and watched, then would do him one better and somehow never get caught. 

Ron's son was another matter entirely.  Magnus was a very dour young man.  The same age as the twins and Lily, he hadn't interacted with either of the children on the flight over.  He had not talked to any of the adults either, just sat next to his mother the entire time and read.  In a way, he reminded Hermione of herself at that age.  She had always been reading, just about anything she could get her hands on.  But she did know for a fact that she had been a friendly child and very outgoing.  Magnus almost seemed as if he had eaten something sour and was going to bite the head off of anyone who said anything to him.

At that moment, the door to the room flew open to admit three laughing little girls, and four older much reserved children.  Reserved until you looked at their faces.  Philip and Lily were walking with Narcissa, their heads bent in conversation while their eyes twinkled with mischief.  Narcissa walked next to them shooting glares at Magnus out of the corner of her eyes and he walked a little in front of her.

Hermione glanced at the older boy and then did a double take.  He was strutting like he owned the place.  Yes, he was definitely strutting.  Being married to the infamous Draco Malfoy would make anyone an expert at recognizing that strut.  Turning to watch Narcissa she found her daughter watching her instead.  Giving her a questioning glance she nodded as Narcissa motioned her outside the room.

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Closing the door, she gazed at her daughter.  Narcissa was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her long blonde hair, held up in a ponytail hanging down the front of her.  "Narcissa?  What is it?"

"It's him.  That boy."  Narcissa got straight to the point.  Hermione could tell by her tone that she wasn't very pleased with 'that boy.'

"Magnus?  What about him?  You don't even know him."  Hermione kept her voice calm and a bit detached, knowing that would spur her daughter into telling her everything that was on her mind.

"He's a menace is what he is.  Mother, he's up to something.  I know it."

Glancing at Narcissa she was bit taken aback at the bluntness of her tone.  "What do you mean he's up to something?"

Narcissa shook her head and walked over to the window across the room and stared out at the rain.  "I don't know exactly but he is.  I can feel it.  Something's not right with him.  I wish I had my wand."

Raising a single eyebrow at her, Hermione shook her head.  "So you can hex him?  I don't think so young lady.  I know you and your temper all too well.  Besides, you're going to be learning wandless magic while you're here."

"We're going to be learning what?"  Narcissa spun to stare at her mother in amazement at this news.  "Wait a second.  I didn't think we were going to be here long enough to attend classes."

"Well, let's be honest about this Narcissa.  We aren't entirely sure how long we're going to be over here.  Plus, since we're staying on the academy grounds you and your brother would benefit from some early education in magic with you're here.  Besides, it'll be nice to be able to bring some of what we learn here back home.  You and you're brother aren't going to be the only ones taking classes while you're here."

"Wait a moment, you're taking classes?  With the students?"  Narcissa looked like she was about to actually smile.  Hermione grinned at her and shook her head in a soft denial.

"No.  Remus is going to instruct Cho, Penelope, and myself while you children are in class.  He's free for this quarter and offered to show us the basics, so we accepted the offer.  Harry's already asked him to come back to Hogwart's next year and teach the subject there."

"Amazing.  Well, I guess I had better go and tell Phillip and Lily that we'll be able to get away from the Weasel for a bit each day."  Narcissa turned and headed toward the door only to be stopped by her mother's soft response to her statement.

"Don't be to sure about that.  Magnus is going to be attending classes with you."  Hermione waited for the explosion that would come.  If there was one part of her own personality that Narcissa possessed, it was her ability to yell, quite loudly.

"WHAT?!?!  I don't believe this!  You expect me to take lessons with that…that…prat!?"  Narcissa was furious.  Standing up from her position against the wall, she started shaking her head.  "No.  Absolutely not.  I won't go.  It's a simple as that."

"Oh you'll go young lady, and that's final.  No," Hermione said as she held up a finger to forestall any further arguments.  "Not another word on the subject.  We're here to blend in, remember?  You are going to go to classes and that's the final word on the subject.  Is that understood?"  
  
"Yes mother."  Narcissa glowered at her mother. 

"Good.  Now, you need to go and change.  I have your clothes laid out for you in your room.  They don't wear wizarding robes here so you're not going to either."  Hermione pointed at the door and waited for her daughter to move.  "Now Narcissa."

Narcissa shoved herself away from the wall and walked into the room, glaring around and she stormed into the room she was sharing with Lily and Phillip.  Closing the door quietly behind her, Hermione sighed and shook her head.  Looking up, she came face to face with Cho and Penelope looking at her questioningly.

"What's wrong, Hermione," Penelope asked.  "You look a bit frazzled."

"Narcissa, she seems to have taken a disliking to Magnus, I'm afraid."  Hermione looked at Penelope with open apology on her face.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Penelope told her lightly.  "Unfortunately, he seems to have that affect on people.  I was hoping that being around the twins and Cho would change that.  I had hoped that they could be friends when they attended Hogwarts next year."

Hermione nodded, willing to let the subject drop.  She noticed Cho gazing skeptically at Penelope and caught her eye.  When Cho looked her way, she mouthed, "Later."  Hermione nodded and turned toward the children's room.  "Are the three of you dressed yet?  We're going to be late for dinner."

The door opened to find the twins and Lily dressed in muggle clothing.  Narcissa and Lily were in jeans and sweatshirts emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest above the left breast.  Phillip was wearing a pair of jeans and polo with the same crest on his.  Hermione had had them commissioned before they had left, giving them to the children when they arrived.

"Well?  Do we pass?"  Phillips question brought a snicker from Lily and an eye roll from his sister.

"You look fine, come on."  Hermione walked toward the door and looked back at Cho and Penelope. 

Penelope and Cho both waved them on.  "Go ahead, we'll catch up."  Turning toward the room the three small girls were sharing, Cho walked in and announced that they needed to stop playing and begin dressing 'or else.'  Penelope headed toward the room she would be sharing with Magnus and walked in without a word or a backward glance.

"Well, come along, we don't want to miss anything."  Hermione turned and led the children down the hall to meet with Sirius and Remus for dinner with the school.

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Dinner at the American school was definitely different from anything that any of them were used to.  The dining hall was set up with small tables that seated about ten children each, with a long rectangular one for the staff in the center of the room.  Instead of House Elves bringing the food out by magical means, there were servers setting out tables of food along the four walls of the room for everyone to help himself or herself to whatever they desired.

As Hermione walked up with Remus she gazed around, looking for her children. Spotting them across the room with a table of children their own age, all laughing merrily, she relaxed.  "It takes a bit getting used to, I'm afraid."  Remus's statement brought her out of her reverie as she looked back at the older man.

"What's that?  I'm sorry Remus, I was wool gathering."  Hermione blushed as Remus laughed aloud.

"Don't worry about the children.  They'll be fine." Remus smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with merriment.  "I was just telling you that I understand the rather daunting presence of the dining hall.  It takes some getting used to."

"Not that I'm complaining for anything, but don't they have House Elves working here?" Hermione hated the thought of the elves being enslaved here as well as in England.

Remus shook his head.  "No, the House Elves are free to do as they please here, with the exception of serves as slaves to the members of the American Wizarding world.  They were classified as a part of the abolishment of slavery, in secret of course.  Most of the employees of the dining hall are parents of the students or spouses of the staff."

"I see, so they have…"  Hermione's statement was drowned up by a startling squeal of outrage from a table near them.

"How dare you!"  Hermione turned to see a girl a few years older than the twins rise up from her seat and regard Magnus for a moment before slapping him full across the face.

Remus moved toward the table with a purposeful stride as the sound of the slap silenced all conversation in the room.  He reached the table and grabbed Magnus by the neck as he lunged toward the young woman.  "What is going on here?"

"He insulted me!  He called me a mud blood!"  The young woman was livid.  "I know I shouldn't have struck him Mr. Lupin but I couldn't help myself.  He's so damned arrogant."

At that moment, Penelope strode into the room with the potions master and stopped as she took in the scene before her.  Taking on a cool, detached expression she walked toward the trio.  "I assume there is a reason you are restraining my son like a common cur, Remus?"

"Yes, you should teach your son some better manners, Penelope.  Even over here, it's inappropriate to call someone a mud blood."  Remus let go of Magnus with a push in his mother's direction.  Before he could straighten up, he found his arm in Penelope's grasp.

"What?!  Go back to the rooms, I'll deal with you later."  Penelope released him and placed her hands on her hips.  "Well?  I'm waiting.  Move."

"But, mother, I haven't eaten yet."  Magnus voice was quiet and carried a ring of…confusion?

"I'm well aware of that, Magnus," Penelope said coldly.  "It is of little consequence to me.  Now go."

"Yes mother."  Without another protest, Magnus walked from the room.  Penelope turned and apologized to the student and walked toward Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"Children, the things they come up with," Penelope said lightly as she reached Hermione's side.

"I wouldn't take this so lightly Penelope," Hermione said matter-of-factly.  "You might want to talk to him and then tell Ron what happened.  Calling someone a mud blood is a very rude thing to do."

"I'm well aware of that Hermione," Penelope snapped.  "I don't need to be given parenting lessons from you.  Not with that arrogant brat you have for a daughter."

"She might be arrogant Penelope," Hermione said, her voice filled with saccharin sweetness.  "But at least she isn't crude."  Without another word, she turned and headed toward the buffet to gather her dinner, leaving a fuming and red faced Penelope behind.

After she had filled her plate and turned to head back toward the staff table, she spotted Penelope leaving the hall in quick strides, her cheeks flaming and her expression furious.  Shrugging off the residual anger at the other woman, Hermione walked back to the staff table and took her seat, determined to enjoy her meal.

Ignoring the looks that Cho, Sirius, and Remus were exchanging, she ate her dinner in silence and then excused herself to return to her chambers for some rest.  Before anyone could say anything to delay her departure, Hermione strode away from the table and toward the privacy of her bedroom.

TBC


	9. Rude Behavior

Authors Note: This is a WIP.  With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one.  Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story.  The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros.  I am making no money off this (would be nice though…laugh) 

Sins of the Father

Chapter 9

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Hermione rose the next morning to find that Narcissa and Philip were already not only awake but not in their room.  Frowning slightly to herself, she walked out into the sitting room and found Cho already seated at the table.  Cho looked up as she sat down and rested her head on her arms, groaning slightly.  "I never thought jet lag would be this bad."  Hearing Cho chuckle slightly she raised her head and glared at her.  "Forgive me Cho if I don't see the humor in this."

"Here, silly."  Cho smiled slightly as she pushed a cup across the table.  "Drink this and you'll be right as rain."

Sitting up, she picked up the cup and took a tentative sip at the steaming beverage.  "Oh!  Turkish coffee!  I haven't had this in ages."  Leaning back in her chair with a sigh she sipped the drink and felt her exhaustion slip away.  "I've never had it have quite a quick effect as this but I'm not about to complain about it."

"Remus brought it by earlier and left it on the table with a warming charm over it.  He left a note explaining that it had a "No Jet Lag Potion" mixed in with it so we would be awake and alert for our lessons."  Cho paused and glanced toward the clock on the wall opposite them.  "Speaking of which, we should be going otherwise we might find Padfoot and our door growling at us to hurry."

Laughing, Hermione stood up and went into her bedroom to change.  As she was pulling on her shirt she heard a soft knock at the door, followed by Cho's voice.  "Hermione?  Penelope's not in her room."

"Eh, don't worry about it.  She's probably still miffed at me about Magnus yesterday."  Hermione tried to shrug it off lightly but couldn't help but get the feeling that something wasn't right about that boy.  His mother's reaction in the dining hall didn't do anything to soothe that feeling either.  "Most likely she's already with Sirius and Remus, waiting impatiently for us to show up.  I just hope the children have found their way to the classes this morning."

"They did," Cho said with a laugh.  "I woke up to find Narcissa, Philip, and Lily heading out the door.  When I asked if they needed a map they told me no that they had found their classrooms yesterday.  Now, we just have to find our way around."

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"Good morning class."

"Good morning Professor Agiss," came the chorused reply from the room.

Narcissa turned to look at her brother, one delicate white-blonde brow raised.  Philip fought back a laugh as Lily grinned.  "This should be interesting."

"Now remember what mother said, Narcissa.  We can't cause trouble."  Philip said under his breath.

"We're not the ones I'm worried about causing trouble," Narcissa replied.  Philip and Lily glanced at her and followed her gaze to Magnus Weasley, who was seated across the room by himself.

Before Philip or Lily could say anything more the professor began the class.  "All right, this is Wandless Magic 101.  In this class you are going to learn to use the magic you posses and the magic of the world around you without the use of your wands.  So, put your wands away in your desks.  Yes, you heard me correctly, I don't want anyone with wands in reach during this class."

There was a stunned silence in the room for a moment before the students began to put their wands away.  After placing their wands in their desks they returned their attention to Professor Agiss.  Sitting on her desk, she swung her legs in the air as she began the lesson.  While she spoke and the students took notes, her eyes wandered the classroom picking out students here and there, preparing to pair them off to work with one another.

After a short time, she spotted Magnus at his desk and frowned slightly.  Thinking to herself that he might be a particularly difficult one to adapt to the new environment she thought she should find him a particular partner.  His eyes lifted from the paper in that moment and instead of looking at her, he turned his gaze across the room and settled it on another student.

Following his gaze, she had to stop her eyebrows from rising in surprise when she realized he was staring at Narcissa Malfoy.  Glancing back at him, she noticed no malice in his gaze, almost a detached curiosity.  Being the witch she was, she always enjoyed testing students mettle, she decided her last pair and stood up, bringing the speech to an abrupt halt.

"Very good.  Now, put your things away and listen carefully while I arrange you into pairs to work with each other on the charms.  The first thing we are going to work on today is the Accio charm.  All of you are familiar with it, after using your wands, I'm sure it shouldn't be too difficult."

She began calling out names two at a time and sorting the students.  Since her class was kept quite small she was done in a matter of moments.  As she called out the last four names, she noticed the look of indignation on Narcissa's face.  "Something wrong Miss Malfoy?"

"No ma'am, nothing."  Narcissa's reply was clipped but polite. 

Nodding to herself, she ordered the children to pair off with their partners and space themselves easily around the open floor of the room.  The room was circular in shape with the desk lining it against he wall.  Her desk was situated directly in front of the desks with its back facing the rest of the empty classroom.  Because of this, she spent most of her classes on her feet, walking among the students and correcting the as needed.  After a few moments of helping some of the students gather their thoughts and center themselves, she told them to begin.

The pillows that they were fetching from across the room were slow to move at their commands but a few did manage to get them to slither across the floor slightly.  Seeing one of the students becoming particularly distressed across the room, she headed toward them as a cushion went zooming in front of her, missing her face by a few scant inches.

Biting back a yelp of surprise, she turned quickly to see who had mastered the charm so quickly.  She watched as the pillow flew into Narcissa's outstretched hands before nodding and giving the young woman a smile of approval.  Her partner Magnus glowered for a moment before attempting the charm himself. 

Narcissa turned toward him with a smirk and said something under her breath to him causing him to pause and glare at her, his eyes smoldering.  Before Professor Agiss could reach the pair, she saw Magnus's hand come up and the charm leave his mouth.  "Expeliramus!"

"Mr. Weasley!  That's quite enough!"  Professor Agiss's command was unheard by the class who turned to watch as Narcissa was thrown across the room to land in a heap at her brother's feet. 

Seeing Philip bring his hands up, Narcissa muttered a warning that like the professor's went unheard by the young Malfoy.  "Shellarius!"

Hearing the obscure spell come from the young man's mouth Professor Agiss spun to see Magnus Weasley stop in mid-movement as he was encased in a charmed glass shell, imprisoning him completely while not harming him.

"ENOUGH!  LISTEN TO ME WHEN I ORDER YOU TO STOP!"  Professor Agiss was breathing hard when she reached the children and grabbed Narcissa by the arm, bringing her up off the floor while grabbing Phillip's collar and giving him a good shake.  "Release that young man, right this instant!  Did you hear me?"  She released his collar and glared at him while still holding onto a stunned Narcissa.  Lily was standing off to the side staring open-mouthed at the twins and teacher in amazement.

Phillip straightened his shirt collar and waved his fingers toward Magnus, muttering under his breath.  "There, he's fine now.  But if he ever tries anything like that again…"  Phillip let his words trail off as he shot dagger with his eyes toward the young Weasley. 

"I will take care of that, if and I repeat, if it happens in the future.  Mr. and Miss Malfoy, the two of you are excused to return to your rooms, but be back here in my class directly after dinner."  As Professor Agiss turned away from the twins she heard Narcissa's protest.

"Why both of us?  Weasley started it."

"Actually, Miss Malfoy, I believe you started it.  I will admit that I didn't hear what you said to Mr. Weasley after you called the cushion to your hands, but I can imagine it was rather inappropriate.  Thus, his retaliation.  Mr. Weasley, you will be here as well to serve yours.  I'm sure I have more than enough to keep the three of you out of trouble and away from one another.  You're dismissed."  Without another word, Professor Agiss turned away and walked toward her desk.

Glaring with indignation at Magnus, Narcissa turned and walked away from her brother, shoving Magnus aside as they reached the door at the same time.  "Move it, Weasel."  Magnus glared at her and stepped through the door, casting a calculating glance around the hall as he did so.

"You can't really be that stupid,  Weasley."  Phillips' voice was soft but filled with meaning as he closed the door behind himself and regarded Magnus coldly.  "Oh, one thing.  You ever pull a stunt like that with my sister again?  I'll kill you.  Understand?"

Magnus said nothing, only glaring at Phillip as he turned and stalked down the hallway in the opposite direction of Narcissa.  Phillip sighed and trotted to catch up to his sister and try to talk her down from her thundercloud before they reached the room and had to explain to their mother what had happened in class.

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Hermione shook her head as she finished relaying the story to Sirius and Remus over dinner that evening.  Cho had pulled Lily to the side and questioned her on what happened.  Magnus, to everyone's surprise, including his mother's from the look of total shock on her face, had admitted he had started the fight after Narcissa's comment to him.  Hermione had made both twins apologize to Magnus for what they had done while Penelope had made Magnus do the same to Narcissa.

Cho had made a comment a short while later that she was surprised that Penelope had actually made him apologize.  "Considering her reaction to what happened at lunch yesterday, I can't imagine what's come over her."

"Maybe she's had a change of heart," Hermione said sarcastically.  They had reached Sirius and Remus' quarters to find both men with questions on their tongues and small smiles of pride.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter as Hermione told them about the spell Phillip had worked on Magnus.  "I haven't used that one before.  I wonder where he learned that one," Sirius added almost as an afterthought while casting a curious look at his mate.  Hermione had the grace to blush, knowing his had found it in one of her books. 

Remus spoke up softly, bringing Hermione out of her embarrassment.  "Where are the twins and Lily?"

"Well, the twins are on their way to detention with Professor Agiss, along with Magnus.  I hope they stay out of trouble."  Hermione sigh of frustration was interlaced with worry and what seemed little bit of wry humor.

"Lily is watching the girls and Nimue," Lily said, reaching for her wine glass.  "Penelope said she had some research she wanted to do in the library so Lily volunteered to watch the little ones for us."

Nodding, Remus leaned forward and picked up his own wine glass.  "A toast.  To the mischief of children.  May they never make our lives dull."  With a glint of humor in his eyes, he clinked his glass with the other three and took a drink.  Sirius grinned openly while Hermione rolled her eyes and Cho snorted openly.

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Narcissa and Philip said goodbye to Lily and headed for Professor Agiss' room.  Turning the corner down the hall from her room, Narcissa collided with someone, causing her to fall backward with an indignant squawk.  Philip helped her to her feet, glaring at the person she had run into.  Glancing over, her eyes filled with venom the moment she came face to face with Magnus.  "Watch it, Weasley."

"Sod off Malfoy," Magnus said with a small growl at the end.  "On your way to see Professor Agiss?"

"Yes, and forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't you heading in the wrong direction?"  Philip's voice was filled with disdain as he spoke.  "The classroom is this way."

"Magnus isn't attending detention this evening." 

Turning at the voice, Narcissa and Philip turned to see Penelope walking down the hall, Nimue following her while Lily brought up the other two girls behind her.  "Neither are you."

"Mrs. Weasley," Lily said softly.  "Nimue's dinner has just arrived.  Were you going to be long?"  Narcissa could tell Lily was furious with Penelope for taking the small girl away from the apartments with dinner soon to be served.

"My daughter is mine to do with as I please, Ms. Potter.  But, I'm ever so glad that you decided to come along.  This makes things much easier."  Penelope took that moment to reach out and grab Philip by the arm while doing the same to Lily.  "Magnus, the Malfoy brat!  Take her!"

Magnus lunged at Narcissa, a malicious grin on his face.  Brining her hands up, Narcissa tried to use her magic to cast him aside but wasn't able to mutter the spell before he landed on her and brought both of the crashing to the floor, forcing the air from her lungs.

Wrestling her up from the floor, Magnus pulled both of her arms behind her back roughly and nodded to his mother.  "I've got her."

"Good, we need to be off then.  Let's get out to the garden, we can't Apparate indoors here."  Penelope began to walk away, pulling Lily and Philip with her as Magnus followed behind her, forcing Narcissa to walk in front of him.

In that moment, Lily looked back over her shoulder and saw her sisters standing with a confused looking Nimue.  "Anne!  Jun!  Go get Mother and Aunt Hermione!  They're with Uncle Sirius!"

"What!?"  Penelope spun just as Ann and Jun turned and sped down the hall, Jun carrying a now crying Nimue in her arms as they ran.  "Get back here!  Nimue!"  Turning away from the fleeing girls, Penelope snarled and started forward again.

"But, Mother.  Nimue!"  Magnus stopped and turned, looking back in the direction the girls had run with his baby sister.

"Magnus!  Come along!  Now!  I don't have time for you hysterics over your sister!" Penelope's voice cut through the hall as she continued on without him.  "Magnus!  Don't make me tell you again!"

Growling frustration, Magnus followed his mother while Narcissa was calculating how she could possibly get herself, Philip, and Lily out of this situation. 

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Hermione and Cho were walking down the hall with Sirius and Remus, heading back to their rooms when Ann and Jun came down the hall yelling for them.  Looking at the two girls racing toward them, Hermione and Cho rushed forward.  Cho, taking the crying Nimue from Jun immediately asked them what was going on.  "Where's your sister?"

"She has them, Mama!"  Jun was trying to comfort Ann who was now weeping just as hard as Nimue.  "She took sissy and Philip.  And that mean boy took Narcissy."

"Boy?  Magnus?  Wait a moment." Cho was getting lost, Hermione could tell.

"Ann, which way did they go?"  Hermione leaned forward, placing her hands on the small girls shoulders.  "Did you see which way they went."

"Yep.  That mean woman said that they had to get to the garden so the Apparate out."

Turning to look at Sirius, she saw him nod slightly.  Turning back to Cho, she sighed.  "Cho, take the children back to our rooms.  Sirius, Remus, and I will go after the others."

"I'll go with her," Remus said, coming up and taking Nimue from Cho and smiling softly at her.  "Hurry."

Sirius and Hermione rushed down the hall in the same direction the young girls had just come from.  "This way, I know a quicker route there."  Sirius' voice cut through her thoughts.  Nodding her agreement, she turned and followed him down a dim stairwell.  A few turns later, they pushed through a set of doors into a moonlit garden.

Hermione saw Penelope standing in the center with Philip and Lily in front of her as Magnus was holding a struggling Narcissa, who was using the moment to call Magnus every nasty name she had ever heard, plus a few that surprised even Hermione. 

"This isn't going to be easy," Sirius said softly from beside her.  Glancing at him, she could see his face was grim.  "We're going to have to be very careful so as not to hurt any of the children, including the young Weasley."

"Agreed."  Hermione stood and walked forward, ignoring Sirius's call for her to get down.  "Penelope!  What are you doing?"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the proud mother come to the rescue?  I was wondering how soon you would show up."  Penelope's smile was cold as she regarded Hermione.  "You're the true prize I was after though."

Releasing Philip and Lily, she smiled grimly at Hermione before walking forward and doing the one thing that Hermione never expected.  Pulling her arm back, she punched Hermione in the jaw, causing her head to snap back and watched Hermione crumple to the ground as she groped for her wand. Philip and Lily rushed back to Hermione's side, placing themselves in front of the woman, who was trying to push them aside as she rose.

"This is even better than I thought.  Four for the price of one.  Fabulous."  Penelope reached into her robe and pulled out a small battered wallet.  Muttering some words, she felt the pull of the port key as she was sent to her destination. 

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Sirius watched in shock as Penelope activated the port key, somehow taking Hermione and the others with her, considering none of them were touching it.  As he shook himself out of his shock, he rushed forward to find the garden deserted as professors and other students began to flood the garden, alerted to the loud voices they had heard.

Shaking his head in dismay, he was wondering how he was going to be able to tell Harry that his oldest daughter was gone and explaining to Draco Malfoy that his entire family was missing as well.

The one thing that he did have a clear thought of was how he was going to throttle Ronald Weasley once he got his hands on him and make the boy ever regret choosing Penelope Clearwater as a wife.

TBC


	10. Captured!

Authors Note: This is a WIP.  With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one.  Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story.  The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros.  I am making no money off this (would be nice though…laugh) 

Sins of the Father

Chapter 10

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Hermione staggered slightly as the port key released them.  Looking around, she couldn't see much, barely being able to make out walls and floors of dark stone.  Looking around, she saw Magnus holding onto Narcissa, with Philip struggling to get near him.  Penelope was smiling smugly, her wand pointed directly at Hermione while she still held tight to Lily.

"Where are we Penelope?"  Hermione kept her voice calm, hiding the fact that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest.  "Where have you taken us?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that Hermione.  All your questions will be answered soon enough."  Without waiting for any reply Hermione might have, Penelope walked forward and shoved Hermione aside.  Reaching forward, she opened a door and flung it back to crash into the wall with a resounding clang as it struck.  "Inside."

Still pointing her wand at Hermione, Penelope smiled coldly.  Hermione ushered the two children in front of her, casting a quick glance to her right, checking on her children.

Penelope's voice brought her quickly out of her reprieve.  "Not the brats.  Just you.  Come on mudblood."  Hermione glared at her as the derogatory name left her lips. 

"Now I know where Magnus learned such an uncouth word.  I thought you were better than that Penelope," Hermione said softly. 

"Well, we'll see who has the better attitude once Lord Flint finishes with you."  Penelope smiled coldly at the recognition and realization in Hermione's eyes.  "Yes, Marcus Flint, the new Dark Lord.  He's more of a lord than Voldemort ever was.  And now, thanks to Potter, he can step forward and claim his throne and rule the entire European Wizarding World with an iron fist.  With me at his side."

With this said, Penelope shoved Hermione inside and slammed the door shut behind her.  Muttering under her breath, she locked the door with a spell and turned toward the children.  "You two, over here."  Hermione stepped to the door as she listened to the other woman order the children around.  Watching, she saw Penelope split the three children up and place them in separate cells along the corridor.  None of them were placed in a cell adjoining the others.

"I'll leave you now, the Dark Lord is expecting us.  Come along Magnus." 

Listening carefully, Hermione heard Penelope and Magnus walk away, the silence suddenly broken by Penelope's sharp voice.  "Magnus!  Watch what you're doing!  You almost knocked me down!"

"Sorry mother," came the soft reply.

Hermione heard a door clang shut, leaving silence in its wake.  Once she was sure that Penelope was gone, she risked calling out to the children.  "Phillip!  Lily!  Can you hear me?"  Hearing nothing she began to cast around the cell, looking for what she knew had to be hidden there.  Finding nothing on the walls, floor or ceiling she glanced at the cell door across from hers and saw the rune etched there, surrounded by others.  A permanent charm against speaking with fellow prisoners, most likely to prevent any plans of escape.  It was an intelligent move, something she would have thought of herself.

Leaning against the door, she studied the runes across from her and began to run through some complex Arithmancy spells in her mind, trying to decipher a way to break through the wards.

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"Magnus!  Stop dawdling!  Move it!"  Penelope's voice was cold and cruel as she ordered her son along behind her.  Magnus knew that the caring mother he had known when he was younger was gone.  She hadn't been affectionate to him in a couple of years now so he was used to it.  But, he still had to admit that he missed the nights when they would talk and sing to one another.

"Yes, mother.  I'm coming."  Magnus followed his mother up some stairs.  The hallway was beginning to become brighter as the climbed, torches kept closer together with an occasional tapestry hanging over the rough stone here and there on the walls.  Reaching a landing, Penelope waved her hand in front of a door and smiled coldly as the loud click of a lock being released was heard in the still air.

Stepping through the doorway behind his mother, Magnus looked around briefly as he walked, taking in the wealth of the corridor they were now walking down.  The walls were covered in rich tapestries that showed some disturbing sights as well as portraits of wizards and witches who grinned malevolently at him as he walked by.  He heard a couple of them muttering to one another as they stopped before a set of double doors taking up the entire wall at the end of the corridor.

"Look there, it's the Weasley boy.  Hm…I would have looked for red hair."

"Too good that lot is."

Opening his mouth to respond, he stopped when he heard the groan of the hinges as the doors swung inward, allowing he and his mother to step through them.  Stepping into the room, he glances around noticing the unfamiliar faces scattered around the room as well as quite a few he knew.

"Ah, you've decided to return, Penny.  How nice of you to finally join us."   Magnus leaned around his mother to see who was speaking to her.  The voice was filled with arrogance and sarcasm.  He stopped when he saw the man stepping down from a dais at the opposite end or the room. He was clothed entirely in black robes that billowed around him as he walked, making him appear as if he were enveloped in a black fog.  "I see you finally brought the boy.  Very good, I've been anxious to meet him."

Penelope bowed lowly, pulling Magnus into one of his own as she purred at the man.  "Yes, my Lord.  This is Magnus, our son."

Magnus' head shot up at the statement from his mother as he stared at her in astonishment for a moment before looking up at the man standing over him.  When he glanced into the man's eyes, he shrank back from what he saw there.  Evil.  Pure evil and madness.

As he moved to step back, he felt a hand in his back and saw his mother glaring down at him.  "Say hello to your father Magnus.  You're true father."

Gaping at his mother in shock, he turned back and blinked away the tears that sprang to his eyes.  Looking at the man's face, he could see subtle hints that he and this man did indeed share a common heritage.  Seeing the tears in the boys eyes, the Dark Lord threw his head back and laughed loudly, causing Magnus to turn and run from the hall, ignoring his mother's calls for him to return at once.

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"Magnus!  Come back here this instant!"  Penelope's voice rose in malevolence as she yelled at the boys retreating back, only to be stopped short by a hand on her shoulder.  Turning, she smiled up into the Dark Lord's face and shuddered.  "I'm sorry Marcus, I don't know what's come over him.  He's normally well behaved."

"Don't worry about him my dear," Marcus said softly as he leaned closer to her.  Reaching his hand up, he grabbed a fistful of Penelope's hair and pulled her closer to him, kissing her roughly and deeply, drawing a chorus of raucous cheers from around the room as he did so.  "Now, did you bring me what I wanted?"

"Yes, Lord Flint," Penelope said, her voice breathless from the rough kiss, her lips beginning to show signs of a bruise.  "I also have the mudblood wife of the Malfoy traitor."

"Oh, this is excellent indeed."  Marcus' eyes glinted as he considered the news she delivered.  Turning away from her, he began to call people to him, leaving Penelope to find their son. 

Leaving the hall, she glanced around the corridor, contemplating where he could have gone.  Deciding to check the gardens first, she walked toward the doors and contemplated an appropriate punishment for her son since he had behavior in front of the new Dark Lord.

=&=&=&=&=&=&=

The Ministry: Earlier that day.

Walking back to her desk, Millicent noticed the Auror coming out of the Minister's office, followed by a very relieved looking Percy Weasley.  Sitting down, she heard the Minister's words to the elegant woman in the scarlet robes. 

"Thank you ever so much Ralena.  I was wondering if that had something to do with it."  Percy's voice was quiet but filled with satisfaction and a little bit of, could that be excitement?

"You're more than welcome Minister.  I'm glad I could help. Besides, it wasn't until you mentioned the rings that I realized what exactly you were talking about.  I have to say, you certainly gave my old memory a jog on that one.  Well, good day to you sir."

"Yes, good day to you as well.  And thank you, once again Ralena.  You have a wonderful afternoon.  Give my regards to Katie, won't you?"

After watching Ralena Bell walk away, Millicent turned her attention back to her work as she heard the Minister's door close behind her.  A few moments later, she heard the door open again and watched the Minister walk out, his face clouded in thought as he walked.  "Going out Minister?"

Stopping at her desk, Percy blinked owlishly and then shook himself, as if waking from a dream.  "Yes, I'll be out for the rest of the day.  I trust you can hold the fort down here while I'm out then?"

"Yes sir.  Have a good afternoon."  Millicent smiled at him as he walked away, wondering why she hadn't seen Oliver Wood in a few days.  The man almost never missed coming by to have lunch with the Minister.  Realizing that the Quidditch season was preparing for the new season, it dawned on her that he was most likely caught up with practice and what not.

Nodding her head at her wonderful deduction, Millicent turned back to her work and let the conversation between Ralena Bell and the Minister fade from her mind.

=&=&=&=&=&=&=

Walking through the door, Percy regarded the Ministry's Owlrey around him with determination.  He knew that this message would need to arrive at a specific time, otherwise his chance would be lost and any hope of getting Oliver back would be gone.

Seeing an older owl snoozing in the corner, he walked over and patted the bird on the shoulder, causing it to wake up with a startled hoot to stare at him in bewilderment.  Smiling down at the old bird, Percy held up the letter.  "I think you're just the owl I need for this delivery.  Take your time, there's no rush on this one."

The owl hopped down from its perch and held out its leg for Percy to attach the letter to before flying to a nearby window ledge.  Pausing on the ledge Percy laughed softly as the bird turned to face him and hooted a soft question.  "Yes, deliver it to Molly Weasley, The Burrow, please."  Watching as the owl took flight, Percy nodded to himself and turned toward the door. 

Closing the door behind him, Percy set himself to the various tasks he had to complete quickly so that he could take care of the problems at hand, and hopefully have Oliver back in his arms before long.

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Magnus slipped down the hall, hoping he wouldn't be seen as he tried to find the door he and his mother had come through.  Reaching up to brush his hair out of his eyes, he found his cheeks wet with silent tears.  This 'Dark Lord' was his father?  It was impossible.  Ron Weasley was his father…wasn't he?

Looking around, he spotted the tapestry he had seen as they had come out of the doorway.  Looking to his left, he saw the door and reached for the handle, surprised to find it unlocked.  It opened easily under his hand.  Stepping across the threshold he heard his mother call for him.  Pulling the door closed behind him, he listened for her voice and heard her walk past and continue down the hall. 

Relieved that he hadn't been seen, he released his breath in a great sigh and began to descend the dark stairs.  Pulling his wand from his robe pocket, he held it out before him and spoke a single word.  "Lumos."  Immediately, the stairs were covered in a pale blue light, giving the dark stone an otherworldly appearance.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he walked down the hall, until he reached the first occupied cell.  Looking through the bars, he came face to face with a pair of blue eyes that blazed with anger.  "Narcissa, I know you don't like me.  I don't blame you but please, believe me when I tell you that I'm here to help you get out."

He watched her mouth twist into a smirk and saw her lips move silently.  Shaking his head, he explained to her what was going on.  "The cells are spelled.  You can hear me but your voice can't be heard out here or by the others.  Please, just let me help you get you to your father."

With this said, Narcissa's eyebrows rose slightly.  Stepping back, he considered his words for a moment before nodding slowly and stepping back from the door.  Sighing in relief, Magnus pointed his wand at the door and muttered the spell that his mother had used to lock the doors.  To his amazement, the runes etched into the doorway flared to life with a soft red glow that quickly faded to white followed by the distinctive sound of the lock disengaging. 

Stepping back, he watched Narcissa emerge from the cell, glancing up and down the corridor as she watched for a trap.  Glancing at Magnus, she met his eyes briefly before speaking.  "You betray us again, and I'll tear you to shreds, understand Weasel?"

Saying nothing, Magnus only nodded, knowing that he deserved that comment and more.  "Come on, we haven't much time before we're discovered.  We have to free the others."

Nodding her head, Narcissa moved down the hall, before stopping at the cell that housed her brother.  "Phillip!  Stop!  Calm down!  We're going to get you out.  I'll explain everything later!"  Turning to face Magnus she nodded her head toward the door.  "Free him while I find my mother and Lily."

Turning to the door he came face to face with Phillip's hate-filled eyes and flinched, knowing that he wasn't going to like what happened when he opened to door.  Sighing with resignation, he unlocked the door and waited with his eyes down for the blows that never came.

Instead he only heard Phillips voice soft in his ear.  "You've brought yourself up a bit Weasel.  Watch your back, because unlike my sister, I know things that would make your blood boil…literally."

Backing up in involuntary fright, he swallowed nodded as Phillip turned to follow his sister down the corridor.  "Don't dawdle Weasel.  We have work to do."

Nodding his head, he followed Phillip until they reached the door to the cell that housed Lily, who was shouting at Narcissa while the other girl tried to calm her down.  Shaking her head in frustration, she stepped back and motioned Magnus forward.  "Do it."

When Magnus stepped into Lily's line of vision, he saw her eyes go wide and then watched as she began to yell and gesture wildly at Narcissa.  Ignoring her, he bent to his task and opened the door.  He heard the lock click and was stepping back when the door swung open and his face met Lily's open palm with a resounding smack. 

Stumbling back into the wall, he raised his hand to his check in shock at the impact as Lily stalked toward him, shouting the entire time.

"…I'm not kidding this time!  You bloody, arrogant bastard!  If you so much as attempt to lay a hand on any of us again, I'll destroy you!  You hear me?"

Phillip and Narcissa rushed forward, stopping Lily in her tracks as Magnus pushed himself into the wall.  "Lily, wait.  He's freed us.  I don't know what's going on but he said he was going to get us to father.  Now hurry, we haven't much time.  We have to free our mother."  Phillip's calm tone seemed to work on Lily. 

Stepping back, she brushed her long black hair out of her face and took a deep breath to calm her self.  "Fine, but I wasn't joking Magnus."

"I think he gets the picture you two," Narcissa said, smiling softly.  "Between the three of us I think we've managed to scare some sense into him."

"Good."  Lily's reply was followed immediately by another voice.

"Magnus? Are you down here?"  Penelope's voice carried down the corridor causing all four of the children to freeze where they where.

"It's her!"  Lily's voice was a strained whisper as she watched down the corridor.

"We have to hide."  Narcissa's whisper was short and business-like as she moved toward the last cell.  Turning she saw her mother standing there shouting silently at her while motioning with her hands.

Blinking at her mother, Narcissa was able to make out what she was shouting.  "Get out!"

"Mother wants us to leave," she said softly to her brother as he reached her side.

"No.  We're not going anywhere."  Phillip's voice was soft but filled with determination. 

"We don't have time to free her and escape before my mother finds us," Magnus said walking up behind them.  "She'll be safer locked in her cell."

"We can't leave her behind!"  Phillip's protest was followed quickly by Narcissa's. 

"We have no other choice!  They won't do anything to her.  I imagine that they plan to use us to lure both of your father's here so that my fa-…Flint might be able to destroy them.  They won't harm her because they will want to use her as bait!"  Magnus pulled out the port key his mother had used to bring them here.

"Where did you get that?"  Lily's question was laced with suspicion as she regarded him and the old bottle. 

"I slipped it out of my mother's robe pocket when she wasn't paying attention.  It'll take us wherever we need to go and I'm thinking that Mr. Malfoy would be our safest bet right now."

"Magnus!  What have you done!"  Penelope's voice cut the air like a knife, causing the four children to turn toward her in shock.  "Why are they out of their cells?  What are you holding?  HOW DID YOU GET THAT?"

Penelope began to rush toward them as Magnus turned back to the other three yelling "NOW!"  All four of them touched the port key and felt the familiar pull behind their navels as the world twisted around them.

TBC…


	11. Fears

Authors Note: This is a WIP.  With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one.  Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story.  The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros.  I am making no money off this (would be nice though…laugh) 

Sins of the Father

Chapter 11

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Draco rolled over, opening his eyes and immediately jumping back in surprise as he came face to face with his two children.  Instantly, he was sitting up in bed, sleep far from his mind as the reality of what was standing before him hit.  "What are you two doing here?  Where's your mother?"  Looking around the room, Draco's eyes fell on the two other children standing in his bedroom.  "All right, what's going on here?  Lily why are you here?"  Then pointing at Magnus, his lip curled slightly.  "And what is he doing here?"

"Father, stay calm and let us explain."  Phillip's voice was calm but filled with conviction.  "We were taken by Mrs. Weasley to meet the new Dark Lord, Marcus Flint.  She also captured mom and while trying to get her out, we were discovered and just had time to escape.  Dad, you have to hurry, they have mom!"

"Wait…stop…let me get this straight.  The four of you and your mother were taken by Mrs. Weasley to meet Marcus Flint, who is now calling himself the new Dark Lord?"  Draco shook his head momentarily before looking at the four of them with confusion in his eyes.  "Why would Molly Weasley take you to meet some lunatic calling himself the new Dark Lord?"  
  
Growling frustration, Phillip threw his hands into the air as Narcissa stepped forward.  "Dad!  Not that Mrs.Weasley!  The other one.  The mean one, Mrs. Penelope Weasley!"

At this Draco's eyes flew open in shock and then narrowed in anger as he turned his gaze to Magnus.  "Then what is he doing here?"

"I helped them escape sir."  Magnus stepped forward, his head down while he twisted his fingers together.  Then, forcing his hands to his sides, he raised his head and met Draco's gaze.  "I just found out that Marcus Flint is my father and he is meeting at the moment with a large group of wizards and witches in a castle on the continent, who I can only assume are sympathetic to his cause and willing to support him."

Draco's eyebrows rose in surprise.  "That's a pretty big statement, coming from someone of your young age, Mr. Weasley.  You care to tell me exactly how you found out that Marcus Flint is possibly your father?"  Draco turned in the bed and placed his feet on the floor.  "Narcissa, Lily…the two of you wait outside for us.  I need to dress and then we're going to go see your father."  Waiting for the girls to leave the room, Draco rose from the bed and walked over to where he had set his clothes the previous evening when he went to bed.  "Now, Magnus.  Talk."

"Well, we were at the American school.  I was on my way to detention when I met mother in the hallway and she explained that she had gotten me out of detention and told me to head back to our rooms and wait for her.  I met up with Phillip and Narcissa on my way back…"

Draco dressed while Magnus relayed their tale with Phillip elaborating and answering questions that his father directed at the two of them.  By the time Draco was ready the boys had told him enough to confirm his fears.  Grabbing his robe, he headed for the door, beckoning the boys to follow.

Pulling the door open, Draco first heard Harry's voice coming up the stairs, quickly followed by Lily running toward the stairs, yelling for her father.  A moment later Harry came into sight, followed quickly by Cho, Sirius and Remus.  Throwing herself into her father's arms with a cry of relief, Lily started telling him what had happened, barely pausing breath.  Harry, trying to follow his daughter's monologue quickly found himself confused which worsened with Phillip and Magnus began to put their comments in as well.

When Lily told her father that Hermione was still a prisoner there, Harry froze.  Glancing up at Draco, Harry gave him a concerned look and nodded his head.  Turning back to face his godfather, wife and Remus, he told them to take the children and go back to the school, that he and Draco needed to take care of this.  In that moment, Molly's voice erupted from the den below.  "DRACO!  HARRY!  Oh Merlin!  Please be here!"

Not saying another word to anyone, Harry and Draco raced down the stairs and into the library to find Molly's face staring at them from the fire, tears of liquid flame streaming down her face as she sobbed and told them of Percy's letter that Arthur had received that morning.  She had just returned home to fetch some things before returning to Hogwarts and her charges when Arthur walked into the room, ashen faced and had told her what their son had planned.  "Harry, his clock hand reads "Mortal Danger" you have to do something!"

"We will Molly don't worry.  We'll get Percy back home to you."  Harry turned to look at the others and found Draco watching him closely.  Setting his mouth into a firm line, he nodded slightly before turning to the fire.  As he opened his mouth to speak with Molly further, he saw her eyes widen.

"Magnus!  What are you doing here?" 

Turning around in surprise, Harry came face to face with Magnus, who was staring at his grandmother with tear filled eyes.  Before he could answer Narcissa, surprising everyone in the room, stepped forward.  "He's here with us, Mrs. Weasley.  Magnus brought us home."

"Home?  But…I don't understand."  Molly turned to look at Harry and Draco in confusion.  Suddenly her eyes squinted in determination.  "Harry there's something going on here, I can smell it, and I don't like it one bit!  Where's Hermione?  You had better tell me what is going on young man!"

Harry nodded tiredly.  "We will Molly.  Just let me gather everyone together and we'll floo over."

Nodding in satisfaction, Molly disappeared from the fireplace, allowing the flames to return to their normal orange glow.  Harry stepped forward, pulling a container of floo powder from the mantle.  "All right, children first.  And please remember to speak clearly," he stressed, causing a chuckle to come from Cho, Sirius and Remus while Draco just shook his head.

Percy stood in the parlor of the flat he shared with Oliver and looked around their home with dry and resolute eyes.  He knew that he might never set foot here again, considering what he was about to do.  His left hand flared in pain causing him to gasp aloud.  They were torturing Oliver again. 

Suddenly, he was on the floor, filled with sharp jabs of pain and a gripping fear.  The realization of what was happening hit him.  They were raping him!  Not waiting a moment longer, he gripped his wand tightly and sent himself to Oliver's side.

=&=&=&=&=&=&=

Hermione winced as the door to her cell was flung open and the small chamber was filled with harsh light.  Two large figures, their faces hidden in the shadows cast by the light behind them stepped into the cell and hauled her to her feet.  As she struggled against them, she heard Penelope's voice from the doorway.

"Don't fight them mudblood, or it might get painful.  The Dark Lord wants to see you.  Bring her."

Hermione watched her turn and walk away without another word, leaving the two men to bring her along.  Realizing that she wasn't strong enough to fight them, she waited until they were in the corridor outside her cell and tried to Apparate.  Realizing it wasn't working, she allowed her self to be escorted along behind Penelope.

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Stepping aside to allow the others to come through, Harry saw Molly standing off to the side next to Arthur.  Arthur reached out and grabbed Molly's arms as she moved forward and leaned down to talk to her softly.  "Just give them all a moment, Molly-love."

"Don't talk to me like I'm an imbecile Arthur Weasley!" Molly's face was still tear streaked and her voice was hoarse, but her temper was still running hot, so Arthur wisely backed off and let her go.

"Philip!  Where's Magnus?"

Hearing his name, Magnus stepped around Philip and ran to his grandmother's open arms.  Flinging himself into her embrace, he allowed the tears he had been holding back to come in a torrent.  Harry and the others stood back for a moment, allowing Molly and her grandson time together before moving forward.  Releasing her death grip on Magnus, Molly looked up at Harry and Draco, murder in her eyes.  "How could you let this happen?  He's not in a right state of mind and you let him leave to go rescue Oliver by himself!"

Harry raised his arms as if to ward off her verbal attacks.   Then Molly lashed out at him with more than words.  Draco and Arthur moved forward to pull her back as Phillip and Narcissa, followed closely by Lily, moved in front of Harry.

"Grandma Molly, it's not like that.  Uncle Harry and dad didn't know that Uncle Percy was going to do something like this.  It's not their fault!"   Phillip's voice was filled with grief as he shouted at Molly before turning toward his twin sister.  Narcissa put her arm around his shoulders and nodded at her.

"Besides, Uncle Percy isn't the only one in trouble right now.  That woman took our mom!"  Narcissa's normally pale face was flushed with anger as she spoke softly but heatedly at Molly.

"Ok, that's enough!"  Draco's voice carried over the din that was quickly becoming louder as everyone began to voice his or her opinions and concerns.  "We all need to calm down and figure out how we're going to get Hermione, Percy, and Oliver back."

The children, realizing that Draco was beginning to lose his temper as well, stopped shouting and stepped back while Harry, Cho, Molly, and Arthur nodded reluctantly.  Turning toward the kitchen, Molly beckoned everyone to follow her.  Harry and Draco walked into the kitchen while Cho sent the children into the living room to occupy themselves, much to the children's dismay.

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Percy opened his eyes to find himself standing under a tree.  Glancing around in confusion, he took in his surroundings and fought back a gasp of surprise as he stared at the immense castle in front of him.  The structure was gray and imposing in the waning light of the setting sun.

Glancing around at the terrain, he took in the mountains and tried to see if he could place them anywhere.  "What am I thinking?  I don't have the slightest idea where I'm at!"

After scolding himself he stepped out from under the tree and started looking for a way inside the castle.

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Hermione gasped as she was led into the main hall of the castle and saw the gathered individuals.  She couldn't make out any faces of the gathered group.  Everywhere she looked they were cloaked in hoods and masks.  The only face in the room she could see was Penelope.  Then, the crowd parted in front of them and she was able to make out the dais at the end off the hall.  Marcus Flint was seated on the throne there, for a throne it was.  The chair was immense and covered in gilding. Marcus was seated with his legs thrown over the side and his head tilted to the side, a malicious grin on his face as he watched her being brought forward.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Percy Weasley's little know-it-all mudblood."  Marcus's voice was deeper then she remembered and filled with menace.  "How have things at the Ministry been Granger?  How about your marriage to the traitor?  I trust Malfoy treats you well?"  Before she could bite off a scathing reply, Marcus turned his attention to the wall.  "Don't you think so Oliver?"

Turning with a gasp, Hermione saw Oliver sitting on the floor, his head hanging down between his knees.  His arms and shoulders were bare and covered in half-healed cuts and large red welts, evidence of the abuse he had faced at his captor's hands.  As he raised his head, Hermione saw that one of his eyes was so swollen that it was sealed shut and his lips where cracked and bleeding. 

Letting out a sound that was a cross between anger and terror, Hermione ran toward him.  She heard Penelope shout for them to stop her and then heard Marcus to tell them to let her go.  "Let's she how she comforts my little trophy."

Coming to a stop at Oliver's side she sighed mournfully and reached out a hand tentatively toward him.  "Oh Oliver!  What have they done to you?"  Turning to face her, he tried to smile but it quickly turned into a grimace. 

"Nice to see you too 'Mione."  Oliver's voice was cracked and raw as he spoke.  Drawing breath to say more, he grimaced and doubled over in a fit of coughing.  Reaching toward him, Hermione pulled her cloak off and covered him with it as she saw him move his hand away, covered in flecks of blood.

"Flint, you bastard!  What have you done to him?"  Turning to face Marcus, Hermione's eyes flashed as she glared at Marcus and Penelope.

Penelope stepped forward only to be stopped by Marcus' hand on her arm.  "Let her vent, her anger will make her session all the more enjoyable."  Marcus watched as Hermione gathered Oliver into her arms protectively and glared at the group surrounding them.

Just as Marcus was about to move forward, he stopped as a voice carried across the hall.  "My Lord!  There's an intruder on the grounds that you might find of interest."  A pale man with lanky brown hair moved forward to whisper in Marcus' ear. 

Hermione couldn't hear what was being said but she could tell by the smile that broke across Marcus' face that it couldn't be good.

"Should I send out some men to detain him, my Lord?"  The man turned slightly as though to head for the door and fetch his men.

Shaking his head, Marcus turned his smile on Hermione and Oliver.  Then he replied softly to the man.  "No, let him come.  I've been waiting too long for this.  Let's let him think that he's the clever one."

Saying nothing more, Marcus moved back to his throne.  He sat down before beckoning Penelope to his side, who was moving toward Hermione.  "Leave her there, dearest.  This should prove interesting.  As for the rest of you, leave us!  NOW!"

The group assembled in the hall began to move their way to various areas of the hall where they began to disappear.  Watching the group closest to her, Hermione noticed that the objects placed around the hall were also portkeys.  Turning her head back toward Oliver, she noticed that Penelope was still looking her way.  Raising her head and glaring diffiantly in silent challenge, Hermione slowly turned back to Oliver.

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Looking one last time at Hermione, Penelope moved to stand behind Marcus and followed his gaze toward the door.  Hermione's mind was working furiously as she tried to think of who the intruder could be.  Surely Harry wouldn't have allowed Draco to come here by himself, would he?  Although, if Draco was angry enough, Harry might not have been able to stop  him.

Could it be Ron, coming to seek revenge against Penelope for betraying him to Flint?  Or could it be Percy?  No, there wasn't anyway that Percy could get here.  The spells around the castle were too much like those around Hogwart's that prevented Apparating. 

Before Hemione could move her thoughts any further, the main doors to the hall were blown open with a loud bang.  Turning with a gasp, Hermione's heart leaped into her throat as she watched the figure come into sight.

"This has gone on quite long enough, Flint!"  Percy's voice carried across the hall to Hermione's ears.  Oliver, who was still cradled in her arms, raised his head at Percy's commanding voice.

"Perce?" he croaked.

"Shh, it's all right Oliver.  Everything's going to be all right."  Hermione never once turned her gaze from the dais where Marcus and Penelope were waiting for Percy to approach, like a king and queen waiting to greet a dignitary.  "Everything's going to be all right."

"Well, well, if it isn't Percy Weasley, Minister of Magic.  I would tell you that this is a bit of a surprise, but I figured you would show up after a bit to find your Keeper."  Marcus never rose as Percy moved closer.  "I have to tell you Percy.  Now I know why you enjoy his company so much.  He's quite the lion in bed." 

With this question, Percy's face flamed as a raucous laugh burst forth from Penelope.  Raising his wand toward Flint, Percy opened his mouth but was stopped by another voice.  "So Flint, this is what you're up to now?  A bit trash and glam don't you think?"

Hermione's head shot around as she heard the voice.  "Draco!?"

TBC


	12. Showdown

Authors Note: This is a WIP. With work and what not, I can't guarantee how often I'll be able to update the chapters of this one. Please, bear with me in this.

Also, I do not own any of the characters or places in this story. The belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I am making no money off this (would be nice thoughlaugh)

Sins of the Father

Chapter 12

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(Earlier that afternoon)

"Well, that's simple," Draco said with a smile turning toward the rest of the adults, a grin on his face and a glint in his eye. "We're going to use the portkey that Magnus used."

"That still doesn't tell us anything Draco." Harry was shaking his head as he paced, trying to figure out a way that they could get in and retrieve Percy, Oliver, and Hermione and still make it out of the place alive. "What about the Deatheaters that Magnus told us about? We have to take them into consideration."

"I think we can deal with them quite easily. The only thing we need to do is remember that lovely little spell that our daughters used." Draco smiled as he hefted the portkey and gazed at it. "I think a dragon hovering above them ought to charge things up a bit, don't you?"

Nodding his head, Harry smiled at Draco. "You know, I think that just might work." Turning toward Molly and Arthur, Harry nodded decisively. "I'm leaving the children here with you, if you don't mind. Cho, Draco, and myself are going to go after Flint and finish this once and for all."

Arthur nodded as Molly wrung her hands. "Just be careful, all of you. As much as we love those children, we don't really favor the thought of raising them if the lot of you go off and get yourselves killed."

"Don't worry Arthur," Cho said with a coy smile. "I'll make sure they come back alive, and in one piece." Turning to face her husband and Draco, she nodded. "Well, let's do this."

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"Blast it, where's my wand?"

"Draco, don't tell me you've forgotten it!"

"Oh, for pity's sake. Lumos!"

Light filled the damp corridor, revealing Cho holding her wand aloft as Draco searched his pockets for the wand while Harry gazed up and down the corridor, his wand held in front of him to ward off any surprise attacks.

"Aha! Found it!" Turning, Cho and Harry saw Draco standing there holding it up for them to see. "What?! I found it, didn't I?"

Shaking his head, Harry turned away from Draco with a chuckle. "Come on, let's get going." Harry pointed down the corridor they were standing in and started walking. "I think we need to go this way."

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Reaching a flight of stairs they began their ascent, stopping when they reached a locked door at the top. Harry unlocked the door and leaned forward. Pressing his ear against the wood, he couldn't make out any sound from the other side.

Nodding to Draco and Cho, he pushed the door open slowly and stepped out, glancing around quickly. "It looks clear."

"All right then," Draco said, stepping out and dusting off his coat. "Shall we do this Potter?"

"Over there, that looks like an outside door." Cho was pointing to a large set of doors beneath a stained glass window. "Shall we try it?"

"I would think that there would be more people about this place, don't you Potter?" Draco's words were left unanswered as Harry approached the large doors and pushed them open with a grunt.

Casting another glance around, Draco stepped outside with Harry, pausing long enough to nod at him before raising his wand and casting the spell. "ACCIO DRAGON!"

Cho jumped as the silent night air was split by the sound of an angry dragon overhead. Turning toward the scream, she saw a large, and very angry, dragon wheeling overhead. Spotting the three of them on the steps, it turned and began to dive. "Um, HarryI think now would be a good time to get inside."

Not waiting to hear either men voice their agreement, Cho turned and pushed her way past the large wooden doors and back into the castle. Jumping to the right, she grabbed Harry as he came through and pulled him next to her. Draco followed quickly and dodged to the left.

As soon as Draco had cleared the doors, Harry raised his wand and yelled a locking curse that caused the doors to slam shut and glow with a faint golden light.

BAM!

The crashing sound echoed through the hall as the dragon began to tear at the heavy doors. Turning to face his wife, Harry nodded once before turning toward Draco. "We don't have much time. It won't take long for the dragon to break in and then we'll really have our hands full."

At that moment, Harry, Draco, and Cho turned to look down the hall as they heard voices shouting at one another. Realizing that they would have company, Draco and Harry nodded and turned away from one another. Reaching into his cape, Harry pulled out a shimmering length of fabric. "Come on love, let's get out of sight."

Nodding her head, Cho moved close to Harry as he wrapped his Invisibility cloak around the both of them. "What about Draco?"

"Don't worry about him. He can take care of himself." Harry looked briefly in Draco's direction, seeing the other man duck quickly behind a sagging tapestry as the hall began to fill with people. "Come on, we can't afford for anyone to bump into us in this melee."

Pushing her along gently, Harry guided Cho down the wall toward the opposite end of the corridor. Not slowing his pace, he noticed a death eater heading toward the main doors to hall and looked around for Draco. Cursing silently when he didn't see him anywhere, he raised his wand slightly and prepared to stun the death eater.

Harry was just beginning to mutter the curse when the hood of the death eaters cape was thrown back showing a shock of pale blonde hair. Stopping instantly he sighed in relief as Draco glanced around the hall before shoving the doors open in front of him and heading inside with his rather imperious, I'm better than you, you do realize that' look on his face.

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Walking into the large chamber, Draco glanced around and smirked. Everywhere he looked he saw signs of ostentation and arrogance. His father would have liked this place. Glancing toward the far end of the chamber, he saw Percy standing almost halfway across the room, his wand raised in front of him.

Marcus Flint was sitting on what could only have been called the ugliest excuse for a throne that Draco had ever seen. Penelope Weasley was standing next to him shooting daggers at Percy with her eyes. Seeing movement off to his left, he shifted his gaze over and quickly stifled a sigh of relief when he saw Hermione, looking a bit ragged but unharmed, kneeling on the floor next to a very much abused and injured Oliver.

It was then that Draco noticed that Marcus Flint was speaking to Percy and that no one else had seen him come into the room. Hearing the arrogance in Flint's voice as he finished his sentence brought a loud sarcastic laugh from Draco's lips.

Seeing Flint and Penelope dart their gazes toward him, he began to saunter down the aisle, throwing the death eater's cape off his shoulders to pool onto the floor behind him. "So Flint, this is what you're up to now? A bit trash and glam, don't you think?"

"Draco?" Hermione's shocked voice carried across the silent hall, her voice a mix of relief and disbelief.

"Hello luv." Draco winked lewdly in her direction. "Flint here hasn't hurt you has he? Because if he has" Draco let the rest of the sentence fade away as he idly fingered his wand.

"No, I'm fine. But, OliverPercy! NO!" Hermione's cry pulled Draco's attention back to Percy who was now shouting a loud curse, his wand pointed at Marcus.

"Damn!" Draco hissed. "Hermione, get down!" Draco yelled the warning just in time. Percy's spell flew from his wand in an arc of lethal lightening that came crashing down over Marcus Flint and Penelope Weasley. Both raised their wands to protect themselves, Flint being the only one fast enough.

Penelope fell to the floor with a wrenching scream as Flint threw his arm forward and muttered a spell of his own. Percy instantly found himself blanketed in a dark black fog that immediately began to emit a strange keening sound, causing him to loose his concentration.

Shaking his head, Percy staggered slightly and felt someone grab his arm and tug. "I don't think so Percy. You're not going to die on us just yet." Draco's voice barely registered in Percy's ears as he tried to shake off the keening.

Draco muttered a spell of his own and Percy was immediately surrounded in a globe of softly glowing golden light. Turning to face Flint, he found the other man kneeling behind his throne, Penelope's unmoving body resting on the floor in front of the dais.

"What's the matter Flint? Now that you don't have a woman to hide behind or a Weasley to bash around on, you lose your courage? That's just like you." Draco raised his wand and shouted loudly. "Nocturnous!"

Instantly, the hall was filled with a thick darkness that it was impossible to see through. Impossible for everyone but Draco that is. Since he was the one that cast the spell, he could still see as if it were noontime in the summer sun. Seeing Marcus Flint cast around himself blindly, he smirked. Ignoring Marcus, he ran over and searched the body of Penelope Weasley, finding Hermione's wand tucked into one of her pockets. Turning toward he wife, he grinned and raced toward her.

Reaching her side, he touched her lightly with his wand and muttered another spell. "Immulatus." Hermione gasped and pulled back only to blink up at him and smile in relief.   
  
"Draco! You have to help me get Oliver out of here. He can't walk." Hermione was trying vainly to help Oliver stand up but to no avail.

"Here, I thought you might want this," Draco said, handing Hermione her wand, he paused long enough to kiss her lightly. "Now, get him and Percy out of here."

Nodding her head, she pointed her wand at Oliver and caused him to float about waist high and began to guide him toward Percy, who was fumbling in the dark the same as Marcus. Draco watched her long enough to see that she had reached Percy and then turned toward Marcus.

Marcus was now standing behind his throne, growling angrily as he continued to cast about in the darkness. Draco brought his wand up in front of him and prepared to finish Marcus Flint off for good when Marcus turned toward him and grinned, raising his own wand.

Draco paused in shock as his eyes met Marcus'. He didn't even have time to cast a protection spell around himself when Marcus cast his spell.

"Cucio!"

Draco screamed as the spell hit him and he felt as if his skin were being peeled from his body with salted knives. Distantly he heard Hermione's voice call out his name. As the pain increased he wished for darkness to claim him but it never did.

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Hermione watched Draco collapse under the power of the curse and called his name. Rising to move toward her husband she felt a hand grab her and voice speaking urgently. "Mione! We have to go now!"

Turning to glare at Harry she saw the anger and grief reflected back at her. "I can't just leave him!"

"We won't. You know that. I won't let Flint take the ferret from me. I still have too many insults to pay back. Now come on, let's get them out of here so we can come back and rescue your husband." Pointing his wand at the floor, he raised Oliver with the same spell Hermione had used as Percy whimpered in grief over his love.

"It'll be all right Percy, we're going to get you out of here. Come on." Harry's voice was calm and soothing as he guided Oliver and Percy toward the doors. Hermione was walking backward, facing Marcus and Draco she watched the older man walk toward Draco and laugh loudly.

Just as they were about to reach the doors Hermione raised her own wand and whispered the same curse that Marcus had used to fell her husband. "Crucio." She grinned as Marcus crumpled with a scream and Draco rose from the floor shaking his head. Turning to see Harry and Cho heading off down the hall with their comrades, Hermione forgotten, she turned and walked back into the hall as Draco raised his wand one last time.

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Draco stood staring down at the writhing body of Marcus Flint and grinned. "Now I'm going to finish this farcical scene once and for all." Pointing his wand at Marcus he held stone still and spoke the curse with no emotion.

"Avada Kedavra."

Marcus stopped writhing instantly and stopped moving completely. Draco said nothing as Hermione walked up and placed her hand softly on his shoulder. Turning to face his wife he sighed softly and nodded.

"It's over."

Hermione nodded and turned away from the dead man, holding Draco's hand and pulling him along behind her. "Come on Draco, let's go home."

Nodding his head, Draco walked up next to her and put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Yeah, let's go home."

END.


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